From Toy Story to Finding Nemo to The Incredibles to recent animated films like Coco, Pixar has been a part of so many of our childhoods.
The magic of Pixar lies in a brand that captures the imagination we felt as children on the big screen. As adults, we turn to Pixar for nostalgia and bring our children to Pixar films to have them experience the joy we once felt.
Some brands might struggle with capturing this feeling of imagination and translating it into a logo design, but Pixar did not. As Pixar’s imagination continued to grow over the years, its logo only became more popular.
The same logo that was unveiled with the brand in 1994 is the same logo you’ll find today. Given this, it’s safe to say Pixar knows a thing or two about logo design and for the remainder of this blog post we’ll highlight these lessons and more.
Meet Pixar
When Pixar was first founded, it made a huge splash in the entertainment industry. The same George Lucas that created the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises, is the same George Lucas that came up with the Pixar concept. In 1979, George Lucas made a spinoff of his Lucasfilm brand.
The purpose of this spin-off, called Graphics Group, was focused on uncovering how to use computer animation in film production. Less than 10 years later, in 1986, Steve Jobs became the majority shareholder of Graphics Group after providing funding to the brand, making Steve Jobs the official new owner of Graphics Group. Lucas’ vision became Jobs’ vision, and his first action item was changing the name to Pixar.
From there, the rest is history. Steve Jobs grew Pixar to produce feature film after feature film that received award nomination after award nomination. Pixar also thought strategically about how to increase its market share in this industry.
After teaming up with Walt Disney, Pixar was able to monopolize on Disney’s existing empire. This included teaming up on film production, amusement rides, Disney+, and more. With this partnership, Disney was able to have to double the amount of publicity.
The Evolution of Pixar
1979- 1986: George Lucas brings his idea to life
Sometimes an idea remains just that, an idea. Other times an idea can grow to become an entire corporation. The latter is what happened to George Lucas when he came up with the Graphics Group. Lucas wanted to build a company that used state-of-the-art computer technology for film production.
His first notable accomplishment with using computer animation for the big screen was with Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan where the film featured a lifeless planet being transformed to a planet full of life, all thanks to computer technology. From there, Lucas continued experimenting with this technology on the big screen creating images, short films, and even a scene in the Young Sherlock Holmes film.
1986-1990: Steve Jobs’ early leadership of Pixar
In 1986, Steve Jobs took over Lucas’ company after a $5 million purchase. This company then became Pixar. To introduce this new phase of Pixar, the brand-related a short film called Luxo Jr. which features a computer-animated table lamp, which would later become the brand’s mascot.
This short film caught the attention of film critics, and it received an Academy Award nomination. After this accolade, Pixar continued its work on short films, commercials, and other computer-animated projects.
1991-2008: Two companies become one
Rather than trying to divide and conquer, Pixar and Disney decided to join forces in 1991. This agreement brought us the film Toy Story, which was only the beginning of this partnership. The production of Toy Story took several years but once the film was finished and released in 1995, it opened as the top movie that weekend and was the highest-grossing film that year. This film was the first entirely computer-generated feature film and received several Academy Award nominations, again a first for a computer-generated film.
Also during this period was Pixar’s official entrance into the stock market, with an IPO happening in 1995, aligned with Toy Story’s release. Viewers and critics raved about Toy Story which was a lightbulb moment for the two companies. Instead of ending the partnership after this release, Pixar and Disney formed an additional 10-year partnership in 1997 which brought up the movies, A Bug’s Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Cars, Ratatouille, and so much more.
With each film, came more media praise. Even with this 10-year partnership, the two companies didn’t want to have an end in sight. This led the two companies to operate under one umbrella, Pixar. Disney purchased Pixar and from there, every movie that was released was credited to both Pixar and Disney.
2009-Today: Pixar continues to be focused on growth and innovation
In 20009, Pixar released Up which was the first animated film to be released at Cannes. Two years later, to support Pixar’s fast growth, Pixar built a second building at its headquarters in Emeryville.
As Pixar continues releasing films and gaining Academy Award nominations, Pixar also continues to release docuseries, exhibitions, and other innovative media to share more of the behind-the-scenes Pixar magic on a larger scale.
Roadblocks Along the Way
While some companies try to outshine competitors, Pixar’s approach is different. The brand teamed up with its competitor, Disney. The two companies formed different partnership agreements until Walt Disney Studios formally purchased Pixar.
What could have been a detrimental roadblock ended up being a strategic move, all because two brands decided to work together, rather than against one another.
The Meaning of Pixar’s Logo and Pixar’s Logo History
Some companies have chosen to make subtle changes to their logo design over the years, and then there are companies like Pixar.
Rather than make minimal updates to its logo, Pixar unveiled a new design scheme with each logo the brand rolled out.
1979-1986: The first version of the Pixar logo
While this logo features a different company name, this was the name associated with Pixar in its early days. This iteration featured an oval shape that resembled the shape of the Motion Picture Association logo found on the big screen. Within the oval are two capital “G” letters that face one another, printed in red and black. Above the oval was the brand name in a thin sans-serif font, and below the oval was the company’s slogan at the time, “The art of visual communication.”
1986-1994: The second version of the Pixar logo
After Steve Jobs purchased the Graphics Group from George Lucas for $5 million, the next update to the company was a new official name. That name was Pixar and with a new name, came a new logo. The font was updated to a stylized serif font that featured elongated, thin lines. This wordmark sat below an emblem of an abstract depiction of an early Apple computer. This represented that Pixar was part of Apple’s family and as a result, Pixar would be just as innovative as the Apple brand.
1994: The third (and current) version of the Pixar logo
After Pixar’s initial logo, Pixar employee, Pete Docter, designed this iteration of the Pixar logo. This new logo removed the Apple computer design and focused on the Pixar wordmark. The font was updated to include a unique serif typography. Rather than elongating the tails of some letters, the “X” and “R” have a stylized look to their tips. Pixar decided to roll out this logo in a big way, unveiling it with Toy Story’s release. Sometimes there is an alternate version of this logo used, incorporating the brand’s mascot, Luxo Jr., a friendly lamp, into the wordmark.
Pixar’s logo font:
The official inspiration for Pixar’s current logo font is the Charlemagne Standard-Bold font.
This font stands out for its unique approach to the tails and arches of the lettering.
This font is playful and innovative, while being professional, solidifying its position in the animation industry.
Pixar’s logo color:
The official colors of the Pixar logo are black and white. These classic colors help viewers to focus on the brand name, rather than get distracted looking at various other things. Even when Luxo Jr. is incorporated into the logo design, the colors are neutral and muted, focusing on the animation, rather than any flashy details.
Pixar’s logo symbols:
When many of us think of Pixar, we don’t think of the current wordmark, we think of the iconic, flickering lamp whose official name is Luxo Jr. This lamp has become an extension of Pixar’s brand identity and this lamp can often be found on the movie screen, accompanying the Pixar wordmark.
Pixar has gotten creative with each Luxo Jr. movie sighting, showing the lamp doing anything from bouncing a ball to flickering on and off, showcasing the animation and creativity that comes out of the Pixar brand. To incorporate this symbol into the logo itself, Pixar sometimes replaces the “i” in the Pixar name with Luxo Jr.
Pixar Today
What started as a spin-off idea from George Lucas, that was built on by Steve Jobs, is now owned and managed by The Walt Disney Company. When Pixar was first founded, the company only had 40 employees. Today, Pixar employs more than 1,200 people. In 2000 Pixar’s offices moved from Richmond, California to Emeryville where the headquarters remains today.
When it comes to computer animation, all signs point to Pixar today. Pixar is the gold standard of computer animation – and for good reason! Some of Pixar’s more recent films (like the Toy Story and The Incredibles sequels, as well as Finding Dory) have generated more than $1 billion in revenue. Revenue isn’t everything though. Pixar’s films have a long list of film awards with countless Academy Awards, Golden Globes, and Grammy Awards to Pixar’s name.
Pixar continues to be a brand focused on innovation in the animation industry. In recent years, Pixar has begun to release films that include 2D animation as well as live-action, but it’s clear that this is a brand with no plans of slowing down.
Lessons Learned from Pixar
For a company that has done so much, it may be shocking that Pixar has such a simple logo – but it is a logo that has worked for the brand. Looking at Pixar’s success, there’s a lesson we can all take away – simple is more. Rather than filling up a logo design with various colors and symbols, the brand focused on the Pixar wordmark and allowed for the Pixar name to be what stood out. Your eyes immediately go to the wordmark and since 1994, this simple, classic lettering, in black and white, is what we associate with the brand name.
Beyond the wordmark, Pixar turned to animation to truly bring the brand’s logo to life. Using a lamp to symbolize new ideas and innovation, this table lamp provides a playful component to the logo. Rather than add the lamp as an additional component to the design, Pixar incorporated the table lamp into the wordmark for a secondary logo design, using the lamp as a replacement for the letter “I”, since that is what has been the most crucial part of Pixar’s brand identity.
Having a simple logo design has helped the logo to be universally recognized across the world. It’s a logo design that makes sense no matter where you reside. By only including the Pixar wordmark, the brand has a unique versatile logo design that can easily be scaled up or down whether you see the logo on a webpage or on the big screen before a feature film.
Whether you’re looking for a simple design like Pixar or a more complicated one, Hatchwise can help bring your logo dreams to life. If you’re on the hunt for a new logo and are ready to get started reviewing designs, start your logo contest with Hatchwise today!
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