When it comes to a brand you can trust, you don’t have to look any further than Carhartt. Since the brand first came on the scene in 1889, Carhartt has become the definition of comfort, durability, and excellence when it comes to clothing.
What started as a business that outfitted railroad workers with overalls made from duck and denim fabrics, has grown to be a globally recognized family-owned fashion label. Today Carhartt is widely known for creating quality jackets, coats, vests, shirts, jeans, dungarees, and so much more.
Behind this successful business though is a successful logo that has propelled the brand to this global success. With a company that has been around for 130+ years, there are many lessons we can all learn.
Below we take a deeper dive into this iconic brand that grew from humble beginnings and the logo behind the brand.
Meet Carhartt
Founded in 1889 by Hamilton Carhartt, Carhartt is an apparel brand that changed the fashion industry. Hamilton was born in Macedon Lock, New York in 1855. His family moved from New York shortly after he was born, and Hamilton ended up being raised in both Michigan and Wisconsin.
Before Carhartt was founded, Hamilton left school at the age of 27 to first start a furniture company. It wasn’t long before he decided to shift his focus to be apparel-focused, which he started by outfitting railroad workers. Many of his family members were scholars, so this was a different and new profession to them. Unlike them, Hamilton was interested in business and wanted to pursue that.
What set out Carhartt from its competition is its authenticity and durability in all its clothing for the heavy-duty working class, military officers, and even hip-hop musicians. Each of these professions required clothing only made from the highest quality materials, which is exactly what Carhartt provided.
Carhartt is based in America, where the products are created, but they also create some products in Mexico as well. Throughout the years, Carhartt has continued to expand the brand and today, all professions and types of people seek out Carhartt. This is not only due to influencers highlighting Carhartt, but also because their simple logo showcases Carhartt’s core values. And while Carhartt passed away on May 13, 1937, from a car accident in Grosse Pointe, Hamilton’s business has continued to flourish and his legacy lives on even thirteen decades later.
Carhartt’s Evolution
1882 – 1889: Carhartt’s journey begins
Carhartt, Inc. was founded in 1889 by Hamilton Carhartt in Detroit, Michigan, and was founded as an apparel company that specialized in heavy-duty clothing. This included jeans, jackets, vests, coats, overalls, and hunting and fire-resistant gear. Before the company was formally founded, the idea for Carhartt, Inc. came after Hamilton dropped out of school to create and run a furniture business. After trying this out, Hamilton shifted gears to instead focus on menswear clothing.
When Carhartt was first founded, there were only five employees, two sewing machines, and a half-horsepower electric motor. At first, Carhartt failed as a business, so Hamilton had to conduct in-depth market research to determine how best he could pivot his brand and grow. What he decided to do was focus on an area of opportunity with railroad workers. These workers needed better outfits, so Carhartt created these.
1909: Carhartt expands into other cities
After Carhartt found its niche, the brand began to expand into additional cities. These included Atlanta, Liverpool, Paris, and Toronto.
1937: Wylie Carhartt becomes President
After Hamilton passed away in 1937 from a car accident, a new president needed to be named and that president was Wylie Carhartt, Hamilton’s son. During Wylie’s leadership, he led the “Back to the Land” campaign, which brought the company to a new location in Kentucky. He also launched the company’s first outdoor wear lines which were named Super Dux and Super Fab.
The 1970s – 1980s: Carhartt South, Inc. is founded
While the company continued to grow in other ways, it wasn’t until the 1970s that the brand underwent a major expansion. During this decade Carhartt South, Inc. was formed, and this subsidiary focused on denim. Carhartt South, Inc. was loved by the public and due to its popularity, the brand expanded to several locations. In the 1980s the decision was made to merge this subsidiary with the overarching Carhartt, Inc. brand so it would all be under one umbrella.
The 1990s: Carhartt Work In Progress is founded
In 1994, Carhartt sought to create another sub-brand, this one entitled “Carhartt Work In Progress.” This subsidiary was streetwear-focused and tapped Germans Edwin and Salomée Faeh as designers. It was during this decade as well that Hamilton’s great-grandson, Mark Valade, became the next president of Carhartt, Inc.
Today: Carhartt is a global business
When Mark Valade became president, the brand expanded even more into Europe, beginning to have operations there. Carhartt Inc. was also established as a global eCommerce company.
Roadblocks Along the Way:
Just like with any company, Carhartt was not immune to suffering from some roadblocks. When he first launched Carhartt, Hamilton didn’t have a formal business plan which caused the first version of his business to fail. What he learned though was that market research is a powerful thing. His market research led him to instead create clothing that responded to what workers needed.
Another early roadblock that Carhartt faced was the Great Depression. Just like other businesses at this time, Carhartt suffered, and he was forced to cut down his workforce and reduce locations. Despite these roadblocks along the way, Carhartt was able to get back on track with growing.
The Meaning of Carhartt’s Logo and Carhartt’s Logo History
The Carhartt logo is uncomplicated, only comprised of two components. The first is the inscription in a custom font and the second is a small symbol. When put together, the two components create the iconic logo.
The Carhartt logo today isn’t the same as its original logo. While the logo always has been distinct, it has changed throughout the years. The first version of the logo was launched when the company was founded in 1889. This first logo remained until 1920 and since 1920, there have only been 3 other versions.
Throughout all the versions, you’ll find that the logos are classic, and the designer focused on the elements of the symbol, wordmark, and coloring, instead of creating a flashy logo that drastically changed, or one that didn’t represent the brand’s mission.
Read on below to learn more about the different versions of this logo.
1889 – 1920: The first version of the Carhartt logo
The very first version of Carhartt’s logo was created in 1889. This first iteration features a train car, diamond, heart, and wordmark. All the features are contained in a green and yellow emblem that creates a square backdrop. This logo was nicknamed “Car in Heart” due to the train and heart components.
1920 – 1940: The second version of the Carhartt logo
Over twenty years after the first logo was unveiled, the second logo version was created. This logo kept the same features of a train car, wordmark, and heart, but the difference with this version was that the heart was the backdrop. The wordmark and other symbols were all within the heart. The words “Union Made” and “Pants Overall & Gloves” were added as well, in addition to featuring the Carhartt name. The other different elements with this version were the red, dark blue, and white colors that made up the logo.
1940 – 1970: The third version of the Carhartt logo
A third version of the logo was released twenty years later in 1940. For this iteration, Carhartt opted to brighten up the logo and move around and update the text. “Union Made” was kept, while “Master Cloth” replaced the former other text. The Carhartt name was still featured in the middle of the logo and the design kept the red and white colors we well as the train car, although the styling of the train was updated.
1970 – Today: The fourth version of the Carhartt logo
Thirty years later in 1970, the final logo was created, and this is the logo we know and recognize today. This logo was made to look classic, which represents the classic brand. This version includes a wavelike figure that symbolizes the growth and evolution of the Carhartt brand. Another symbol that is featured is a white crescent within the yellow emblem within the wave. This time the wordmark is only in lowercase letters which helps to convey the charisma the brand embodies.
Carhartt’s logo font:
While the words changed throughout the logo’s evolution, Carhartt always opted for a custom font. The design played around with lowercase letters, cursive lettering, and more, but it always conveyed modern, geometric, and one-of-a-kind elements. While the font is custom created, it does resemble the Conradi font or the Orbitron medium font.
Carhartt’s logo color:
When Carhartt’s logo was first created, the designers opted for green and yellow. Throughout the logo’s progression though, dark blue, red, and white were also incorporated. The logo we know today focuses on yellow, back, and white which together embodies friendship. If you break down each color individually, there is more to learn about why each was chosen.
Yellow conveys happiness, hope, freshness, clarity, energy, and honor. The stable color selection of white symbolizes purity, safety, humility, innocent, cleanliness, and protection. Over the years red was incorporated to highlight the character traits of love, passion, desire, joy, vigor, and courage. The addition of blue symbolized loyalty, confidence, inspiration, stability, freedom, and calmness. These are all traits the brand has developed over its life. Black is another recent addition and is used to convey power, mystery, authority, elegance, wealth, and strength. This color choice helps to showcase the charisma of the brand.
Carhartt’s logo symbols:
Carhartt has held onto a few staple icons throughout its logo evolution. The latest logo features a rounded shape that has characteristics of a wave, while also resembling a crescent. In earlier versions, a heart, train cars, and more were included to highlight was the company was and what it has grown to be.
Another symbol that has consistently been featured in some of Carhartt’s logo are their slogans. While their maiden slogan “Honest value for an honest dollar” was never featured on a logo, other slogans were. Throughout the years “Union Made,” “Master Cloth,” and more were included on the logos. These helped to highlight the brand’s personality in a split second as a consumer looks at the logo.
Carhartt Today
What started as a family-owned business, has remained one over 130 years later. The company was started in Michigan and today, its headquarters is still in Michigan, in Dearborn. Back in 1889, only 5 employees were with the company but today Carhartt has grown to employ over 4,000 employees all over the world and continues to be led by descendants of the Carhartt family.
Financially, Carhartt has also continued to grow. The company ended 2021 with $800 in revenue. The Carhartt family is believed to have a combined net worth of $1.2 billion by Forbes.
The Carharrt Expansion In Michigan
In December 2022, Carhartt announced plans for expanding its headquarters in Michigan. The company is investing $4.65 million and adding 125 new employees. The Michigan Strategic Fund approved a $937,500 performance-based grant for the expansion under the Michigan Business Program.
However, to receive the full grant, Carhartt must create all 125 jobs over a three-year period. The company currently has 644 Michigan employees and 5,500 associates worldwide.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer was the one to announce that Carhartt will invest in Southeast Michigan, creating 125 high-wage jobs. The Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) will be partnering with the company. Governor Whitmer stated that her administration has been working hard to ensure Michigan’s business climate and manufacturing workforce can thrive and create more jobs.
She added that this investment by Carhartt is great news for workers, their families, and the economy as a whole. The company’s continued investment in Michigan is a testament to the state’s growth and potential.
Carhartt Chief Financial Officer Susan Telang expressed her enthusiasm for expanding the company’s employee base in Michigan, stating that the partnership with the MEDC will allow Carhartt to add top talent and invest in its home state, where the company was established in 1889. The recent $32 million investment in the Dearborn campus is a testament to Carhartt’s commitment to growth.
The company plans to expand in areas such as product design, customer care, operations, and digital marketing to meet the increased demand. Carhartt aims to hire high-wage professionals, with average wages of $43.22 per hour, including benefits. The positions available may include marketing specialists, customer service personnel, and other roles. The expansion to Michigan is a significant step for the company, and Susan Telang expressed excitement about bringing more high-paying jobs to Michigan.
Carhartt has been a longstanding supporter of Michigan’s outdoor recreation industry. The company was an active participant in the Michigan Fashion Council led by MEDC, which aimed to bring together leaders in the apparel industry in Michigan. In 2021, Carhatt contributed $10.8 billion in value add for Michigan.
Brad Garmon, Executive Director of the Michigan Outdoor Recreation Industry Office at MEDC, expressed his gratitude for Carhatt’s continued collaboration and commitment to investing in their home state in a statement, “Along with their well-earned reputation in the workwear segment, Carhartt is also one of the oldest and most respected brands in the outdoor recreation sector, and I’m grateful for their continued collaboration with my office and their commitment to grow and invest in their home state of Michigan,” said Garmon. “This announcement builds on Carhartt’s leadership in rebuilding Detroit’s legacy of textile manufacturing and demonstrates that today’s outdoor recreation jobs can be creative, well-paying, talent-driven opportunities that support people, communities, and an adventurous life in the great outdoors.”
A press release stated that Carhartt’s expansions and new job openings will generate a capital investment of $4.65 million. Dearborn Mayor Abdullah H. Hammoud expressed his pride in having Carhartt, a multigenerational innovator, call Dearborn their home. He welcomes their continued belief in Dearborn’s potential to create a positive impact.
Lessons Learned from Carhartt
As we look at Carhartt’s logo there are many lessons we can all learn and take with us for our own business’ logo. Like fellow iconic logos, Carhartt’s is simple. By opting to only include a few graphic components, the logo can focus on its job – to highlight its core values.
While the logo is simple, it is also unique. The Carhartt emblem is not like any of its competitors and so it doesn’t run the risk of being mistaken for a different brand. With your logo, follow suit and stay clear of any templates, stock images, and/or clip art. Another lesson you can learn is to select only legible fonts as Carhartt did. You are only hurting your brand if you choose a typeface that is difficult to read, even when you are close to it.
Another practice Carhartt followed was to create a versatile logo that can easily be reproduced on print, web, apparel, and other applications. No matter how large or small the logo is scaled, it doesn’t lose its critical design elements or lose the quality of the logo. Finally, all the collective components of the logo together make it memorable. Consumers are constantly flooded with advertising messages on a variety of channels, so brands have less time to capture the attention of consumers. Carhartt’s logo is easy for consumers to figure out what the brand is. This is a critical lesson to carry over into your own company’s branding.
