In 1907, 19-year-old James E. Casey and his teenage friend, Claude Ryan, decided to start a business in a Seattle saloon basement with only $100 to their name, which Ryan’s uncle had given them.
The delivery business started as nothing more than the basement, two bikes, the two boys, and a phone.
They called their business “the American Messenger Company.” Little did the boys know that their little basement business would go on to become a multi-billion Fortune 500 company, as well as one of the world’s largest shipping couriers in the world over the course of the next century after its initial founding.
The Beginning Of UPS
Although UPS did start as a delivery business, it was very different from what it is today. Casey and Ryan were not just delivering packages, but at a time when Seattle only had a few public automobiles and phones, and their population was nearly 200,000, they two sought to make communication easier by running errands, delivering packages, and carrying notes, baggage, and food from restaurants.
About 12 years after opening in 1917, the American Messenger Company started to expand. This is the year they officially changed their name to “United Parcel Service” and expanded to Oakland, California.
Their car was also changed to the well-known brown color associated with the UPS brand today. In 1930, the company decided to head east, making its way into metropolitan New York City and moving its corporate office there.
The 1916 Logo
UPS unveiled its first official logo in 1916. It was decided by Casey that the brand needed a visual representation to go along with their quick purchase and message delivery business.
His first logo certainly conveyed their message of being quick a swift, and reliable service, as it depicted the black silhouette of an eagle carrying a package in its talons as it flies across a bronze shield.
Words were written across the package, saying “Safe, Fast, Sure,” further pushing their message across.
The 1937 Logo
As the company started to make major expansion in the 1930s, they decided they wanted to update their logo to be able to reflect that. Additionally, during this time, the company officially changed its branding to the UPS name instead of “the American Messenger Company.” This logo still maintained the famous shield shape of the first logo, depicting the safety and reliability of the company. However, almost all other features were different.
There was no more eagle or package. Instead, the “UPS” letters were written in large yellow letters filling the interior of the shield. On the bottom was a ribbon with the words “SINCE 1902” written across it. A new slogan was added to the upper part of the shield shape, reading “The Delivery System for Stores of Quality” in all uppercase letters. Only two colors were used for this logo. All the lettering and outline were done in a bright yellow color. The rest of the logo was filled in with the brown/bronze color, including the shading of the “UPS” letters.
The 1961 Logo
Another logo was made in 1961. The UPS logo from 1961 was designed by the esteemed graphic designer Paul Rand, who was highly regarded in his field. Rand is also known for crafting other iconic logos, including those for IBM and ABC. Additionally, he collaborated with Steve Jobs on the NeXT logo. For the UPS design, Rand opted for a playful twist, incorporating a parcel at the top of the logo to create a more amusing and unforgettable image for the brand.
This logo was much simpler than the previous two. The same shield was filled with the “UPS” letters, but this time, the letters were more simply drawn and in bold. The ribbon at the bottom was removed, and instead of the slogan across the top, there was a thin rectangle shaped like a package with a ribbon tied around it. This logo also has much less color than the previous ones. It was simply a brown outline and text across a plain or white background. This variation of the logo has remained for more than 40 years.
The 2003 Logo
In 2003, the company decided it was time to modernize the logo as more electronic media grew in popularity.
For this reason, they decided to add more color and shading back into the logo.
The package shape was removed from the shield. The interior color was a dark brown color, while the outline and “UPS” letters were gold. The shield also has a more curved shape on top, and the top left corner is slanted.
They also brightened the left side of the logo so it would give the illusion of shining and appearing to be more 3D.
At this time, the band also officially had their own font called “UPS Sans,” which was developed by famous American art director and graphic designer Paul Rand.
The 2014 Logo
The last logo was released in 2014. This is the same one that is used today. This logo looks almost identical to the one that was created in 2003, only slightly darker and more simplified. This logo has the exact same shapes and text. Only the brown color is much darker, the gold is deeper, and the shine that gave it the 3D appeal was removed. This one-dimensional variation of the logo was more versatile and easier to incorporate into company and marketing materials.
Only the brown color is much darker, the gold is deeper, and the shine that gave it the 3D appeal was removed.
This one-dimensional variation of the logo was more versatile and easier to incorporate into company and marketing materials.
Key Features of the UPS Logo
The UPS logo has several defining features, including the typeface, colors, and iconic shield design.
The Typeface
UPS’s font isn’t just iconic because it’s a part of their distinct log, but also because the brand had its own distinct typeface made specifically for the brand called “UPS Sans.” This san-serif font isn’t only used in their logo but in their marketing materials as well.
This typeface is known to be derived from or similar to FF Dax or Yanone Kaffeesatz and is typically used in bold lettering. UPS Sans is a sans-serif typeface. It is most notable for its distinctive edge shapes, which appear to be more pointed on some of the letters.
This distinct style has allowed it to gain a more contemporary look compared to some of the earlier fonts used in the company’s logos. Previous UPS logos featured serif fonts with slimmer letterforms.
The Shield Design
The shield in the UPS logo that Casey originally created in their forest logo has remained in some form for every following year since.
This is largely associated with the brand today and represents the strength of the company, as well as the protection and care they have for every package they handle.
This helped give the brand a more dependable image while also staying true to its original branding and ensuring it remained easily recognizable.
The Colors
Over the years, UPS has never really steered away from its initial arrangement of colors. The logo mostly features gold and brown.
The logos also contain occasional touches of black, bronze, or white. The first couple of logos were some of the most detailed and colorful variations, while the 1961 logo made by Paul Rand took a much simpler approach.
The next logo went back to a more colorful appearance, and that is how it has remained since. Despite what many believe, the brown used for UPS vehicles is not simply to hide dirt.
In fact, a former UPS executive said that brown was considered to be a luxurious color when the trucks were first painted in 1916. While brown represents luxury and has doubled as being a good color to hide the mud, gold shows its strength and authority and also complements the brown color.
Lessons to Learn from the UPS Logo
The UPS logo offers a lot to take away for other businesses who want to create or improve their own logo.
Some of the primary lessons include the importance of adapting to technology, staying consistent in designs, preserving brand heritage, staying relevant in modern times, and using symbolic graphic elements.
Adapting to Technology
UPS updated its logo as modern times transitioned to an increasingly digital environment.
They simplified the design and updated the colors so it would be more versatile across their platform, in the media, and in their merchandise.
This also allowed for easier reproduction and scalability when different sizes were needed. This, along with their updated brand guidelines, has helped their operations run more smoothly online and maintain good visual appeal across all platforms.
Staying Consistent
The UPS logo has maintained remarkable consistency over the years while still evolving to meet modern design needs.
The shield has remained a part of the logo since the first one was created more than 100 years ago, helping them communicate their core values.
Their custom typeface, UPS Sans, has also been consistently used since its creation, reinforcing a unified brand image across all platforms and communications.
This consistency made sure the brand could continue to be easily identified throughout its different uses.
Preserving Heritage
Keeping the shield since the inception of the logo has not only helped them maintain consistency but also helped them preserve heritage. Co-founder James Casey designed the first logo with that symbol.
Keeping that through all of the subsequent logos helped reflect the small beginnings of the brand, where Casey and his began in a Seattle base with just $100, their bikes, and a phone. This message has helped them remind customers of their long-standing commitment to reliable service.
Staying Relevant to Modern Trends
One key lesson from the UPS logo’s evolution is the importance of staying current with design trends. As times changed, UPS updated its logo to keep up with more modern aesthetics, which had less distracting details and focused more on clean looks and clarity.
For example, the 2003 and 2014 logos were reduced to just a few m, ain elements – the color, the shield, and the UPS lettering. This reflected the shift toward minimalist design that works well in the digital age. This approach made the logo more versatile and enabled it to look great on everything from websites to mobile apps.
Using Symbolic Graphic Elements
The UPS logo is a great example of how symbols can communicate a brand’s values.
The shield, which has been part of the logo since the beginning, represents protection, reliability, and strength – all qualities that UPS wants to convey.
Even as the logo changed, the shield remained, showing the company’s commitment to these core values.
The package icon introduced in the 1961 logo reinforced that UPS is all about delivering packages safely and reliably, and the brief use of the eagle in the first logo reflected their speed and carrying abilities, as well as foreshadowed their upcoming power in the industry.
The UPS brand has managed to make good use of every small detail of each of its logos successfully without overcrowding them with too many distracting details.
The history of the UPS logo shows how important it is to balance tradition with change. By keeping the shield and using consistent colors, UPS has maintained a strong brand identity while also updating its look to stay modern. The lessons from UPS’s approach to its logo –like adapting to new trends while preserving key symbols – can help other businesses create a visual identity that stands the test of time.
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