Oklahoma Logos

Famous Oklahoma Logos

Oklahoma is known as “The Sooner State,” and given its wide range of flourishing industries, we should learn from the state sooner rather than later.

When you think of Oklahoma, the first things that may come to mind are Oklahoma! the musical, the roaring fields, deep Native American heritage, or that Oklahoma was the state that Chandler was sent to in Friends when he fell asleep during a work meeting and accidentally agreed to relocate there. 

Oklahoma is so much more than that, though, and is home to some well-known businesses that are growing at a rapid pace and businesses that have well-known logos to match.

Sonic Drive-In

One fast-food chain that stands out from its fellow fast-food competitors is Sonic Drive-In. Sonic is unique in that it is one of the few fast-food establishments that delivers your food via carhops on roller skates.

The first Sonic was founded in Shawnee, Oklahoma, and its headquarters remain in the state, only a short ride away in Oklahoma City. What started as a walk-up root beer stand has grown into this nationwide operation with 3,545 locations across the United States.

Today, Sonic Drive-In is owned by Inspire Brands, which is also the parent company of other food chains like Arby’s, Dunkin’ Donuts, and Buffalo Wild Wings. When it came to designing a logo for this chain, Sonic’s designers took the concept of 1950s classic carhops and drive-ins and ran with it. The logo features the Sonic wordmark in a cherry red color, representing one of Sonic’s most purchased beverages, the Cherry Limeade. A double-delta symbol encompasses the wordmark.

This symbol is intentionally blue to represent Sonic’s always-cold ice cream. The Sonic logo is timeless, just like Sonic’s drive-ins are.

Oklahoma City Thunder

Like many fellow cities across the United States, Oklahoma is home to a professional NBA team, the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Thunder belongs to the Western Conference Northwest Division and plays out of Paycom Center in Oklahoma City. The team was founded in 2008. Before 2008, the team existed in Seattle as the Seattle Supersonics and won one championship in 1979. In crafting the Oklahoma City Thunder logo, the team drew on inspiration from local teams, including professional collegiate teams.

The logo features a shield with a basketball incorporated into the design, a symbol of protection against thunder, with the city’s initials over the shield. Above the shield is the word “Thunder,” and behind the shield are two sharp lines, representative of a straight lightning bolt shooting forward. The logo incorporates a variety of colors and components, standing out on the court and off it.

Paycom

Another company with headquarters in Oklahoma City is Paycom. Paycom is an online payroll and human resource software provider aimed at helping businesses of all sizes streamline their entire employee life cycles from recruitment to retirement. Paycom was founded in 1998 by Chad Richison and has grown to employ more than 6,300 employees. Paycom is a fast adapter in this space and is experiencing rapid growth. Fortune and Forbes have recognized Paycom as one of the fastest-growing publicly traded companies in the world, and in 2022, Paycom reported more than $1.3 billion in annual sales.

When it comes to Paycom’s logo, the logo is a simple one. The logo features the wordmark in lowercase, block font, and features a green emblem to the left of the wordmark. The emblem is a square that is not fully closed, symbolizing the square is still on its journey. This represents the full suite of employee services that Paycom offers businesses, covering the entire employee lifecycle.

The simplicity of this logo is always for it to easily scale up with the business, while the green coloring and emblem allow for it to stand out from competitors.