When PayPal burst into the scene in 1999 as an online payments system, they debuted a logotype, not drastically far from the one they use today, which featured their brand name in italicised modern sans-serif typeface with a a white fill and a thick blue outline. The lettering stood out because of its sharp angles and distinct contours.
PayPal’s visuals were taken in a better direction when they redesigned their logo in 2007, but they weren’t quite there yet. The logotype featured the company name in 2 shades varying shades of blue, rounded edges, a less angular typeface.
In 2014, PayPal needed a brand refresh as the landscape of e-commerce, along with their services, was radically changing. That’s when they introduced their most successful and recognisable logo to date. Fuseproject, the San Francisco design agency behind the design, changed the typeface, refreshed the colour palette and made a new version of the double-P monogram.
The company’s marketing director Alison Sagaar explains “The new wordmark is slightly tighter, so it’s more able to be used on smaller screens… also the monogram has been refreshed and tightened up, and it’s going to be used in conjunction with the wordmark to form the new signature.”
Sagar says they kept the blue colour palette because it had very strong brand recognition. Her team didn’t want to change it too drastically, so they just made the colours more vibrant to pop on both physical and digital formats. The angle of the letters also features “a more forward-looking slant, to reinforce the theme of innovation” Sagar states while citing the 58 product enhancements PayPal has introduced in 2013.
Today, the double-P monogram needs no introduction. PayPal future-proofed its brand while retaining brand recognition.
Good branding lasts. #PLUMMagency
