The Bluey logo invites viewers into a magical world of carefree games and adventures. The series’ characters are funny dogs who go about their daily lives, make friends, learn, have fun, and find joy in small things. The emblem immerses you in the positive atmosphere of the cartoon, where every moment is full of joyful discoveries.
Bluey: Brand overview
The origins of “Bluey” can be traced back to 2016, when Australian animator Joe Brumm began working on the idea for a brand-new animated children’s show. Brumm, who had prior expertise from working on previous projects, wanted to make a show that entertained adults and children alike while reflecting contemporary Australian family life.
Brumm’s personal experience as a father of two children inspired the show. He was inspired by commonplace events and games he saw in his household. Bluey, the lead character, is a blue heeler modeled after his older daughter.
Brumm pitched the idea to Ludo Studio and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) in 2017. The concept was well received, and the pilot episode’s development began.
The first season’s production began in 2017. The writers and animators collaborated to create the characters and produce a distinctive visual style. Australian life and culture were meticulously detailed, giving the play a genuine and recognized feel for the local audience.
The show made its Australian television debut on ABC Kids on October 1, 2018. Its warmth, humor, and accurate depiction of familial dynamics immediately drew fans in. The first season had 52 episodes and an average runtime of seven minutes.
The show was an enormous hit in Australia. The show swiftly surpassed all other programs regarding viewership on ABC’s digital platform, ABC iView. International distributors were interested in this.
BBC Studios obtained the global distribution rights in 2019. This paved the way for the series’ international popularity. The next year, the show made its American television premiere on Disney Channel, Disney Junior, and Disney+, greatly increasing its viewership.
The second season debuted in March 2020. In addition to introducing fresh facets of the Heeler family’s existence, it carried over themes from the first season. The second season also had 52 episodes.
The show won several important honors in 2019 and 2020, including the AACTA Award for Best Children’s Program and the Logie Award for Most Outstanding Children’s Program.
The third season will premiere in 2021. This season, the show upheld its reputation for providing excellent family entertainment.
As the series progressed, it emerged as a significant brand. Characters from the program were featured in books, toys, clothes, and other released products. This helped the brand expand even further and achieve commercial success.
The second half of the third season started to air in 2022. The superior animation and storytelling that defined the series remained in these new episodes.
In 2022, the show also became more globally known. The sitcom expanded its global viewership by being dubbed into several languages and starting to air in new nations.
The show maintained its high standing among children’s shows and animated programs when it received the prestigious BAFTA award for Best International Animation that same year.
The series’ continuation was announced for 2023. The news that new episodes would be produced thrilled viewers worldwide.
The brand kept growing in 2023 as well. New product lines, such as interactive books and educational toys, were introduced and immediately gained popularity among kids and their parents.
The same year, the show started working with different educational institutions to create a curriculum that took advantage of its success to impart valuable life lessons to kids.
Throughout its existence, the series has stuck to its basic idea of portraying realistic, entertaining, and informative stories from the everyday lives of an Australian family. The series is still among the most-watched children’s programs on television today, drawing new viewers worldwide.
Meaning and History
What is Bluey?
This charming animated show from Australia has won viewers’ hearts worldwide, appealing to children and adults. At the center of the story is a six-year-old puppy and her family, who explore life’s everyday joys and challenges through creative play. Set in Brisbane, the plot covers themes of family, friendship, and growing up, presenting them through a uniquely Australian perspective. Each episode is filled with imagination, humor, and genuine emotions, often inspired by popular children’s games. Notably, the show reflects modern family roles, with the puppy’s father, Bandit, actively engaging in parenting and play, challenging traditional gender stereotypes. The show’s success lies in its ability to resonate with children, while adults also appreciate the subtle yet touching portrayal of the joys of family life and parenting.
2016
The earliest Bluey logo appeared in a 2016 pilot episode. Joseph Brumm and his team released a short sample of the cartoon about a puppy to attract the interest of television network executives and request funding to produce a new animated series. So, the designers didn’t put much effort into creating the emblem for the opening title—after all, it was assumed that it would be changed and refined in the future.
The name “Bluey” looks like it was hand-drawn in a primitive graphic editor. The uneven lines appear shaky due to the wavy and jagged edges, revealing the artist’s carelessness. The deliberately rough style matches the cartoon’s light-hearted mood, initially aimed at a young audience. As we know, children love everything simple and informal, not bound by strict rules.
Due to their blurriness and unclear boundaries, the letters resemble clouds. They seem to float upwards, unable to stay in a single line and swaying in different directions. The uneven placement of the glyphs gives a sense of lightness and strengthens the association with something weightless. In this case, the airiness is an advantage because it is associated with childhood.
The “B” and “L” are tilted to the right and pressed against the other letters, which are slightly raised and closely positioned. There are practically no spaces between them, which makes the logo more grounded and prevents the visual lightness from becoming excessive. Another “weighting” factor is the dark lines drawn along the edges of the glyphs. They add depth to the text despite its primitive two-dimensional appearance.
The Bluey name uses no existing fonts because all the elements are hand-drawn. The artists made the letters uppercase and bold and avoided adding serifs to keep the emblem uncluttered. As a result, two opposites are combined here: seriousness and playfulness. The first is reflected in the massiveness of the glyphs, while the second is in their disproportion.
The logo’s colors are perceived neutrally, as the light-blue shade dominating the text creates a sense of lightness and freshness. Dark blue is used only for the outlines, which add volume to the letters. The chosen shades perfectly convey the concept of the animated project, where the main character is a funny and energetic blue puppy.
2017
The short sample of the cartoon interested the executives of the American Broadcasting Company so much that they allocated several thousand dollars to create a seven-minute follow-up. The new pilot episode was released in 2017, and with it came an improved Bluey logo, completely different from the previous version. Few people know about its existence because it was used in only one episode and never aired.
The designers refined the inscription, making it more readable and fixing several details that had made the cartoon’s title look sloppy. To get rid of the primitive style, they had to:
- Align all the glyphs by height;
- Smooth the edges of the lines;
- Balance the stroke thickness;
- Increase the spacing between the letters.
So now it’s not just a drawing but a true wordmark created with the Hello Headline font. Even with all the changes, it retains a sense of childhood, as the bubbly style of the letters makes the logo playful, relaxed, and welcoming. It perfectly matches the concept of the cartoon, which is aimed at preschoolers.
The glyphs still resemble small clouds because they lack outer corners. The rounded ends add visual softness to the text, emphasizing the kindness of the animated project, whose characters are friendly dogs exploring the world through play.
The letters’ minimalist design conveys simplicity and clarity. The designers didn’t add gradients or outlines to create a three-dimensional effect; instead, they focused on finding the right color. They chose a pleasant light-blue shade—bright enough to catch children’s attention yet neutral and calming, setting the mood for watching the cartoon. The logo’s color perfectly matches Bluey’s name and the main character’s appearance.
2018
As they prepared for the animated series premiere, the developers created a draft version of the logo. It is based on the earliest wordmark used in 2016, known for its messy style. The inscription looks like each letter was hand-drawn and sloppily, disregarding modern graphic tools.
There isn’t a single straight line in the emblem: the asymmetrical glyphs tilt in different directions, press against each other, levitate above the line, and create a sense of chaos. This might deter meticulous adults, but it appeals to children—the cartoon’s target audience. The playful Bluey logo captures the essence of the animated series, where in each episode, the characters invent new games and learn about the world through play.
The lettering looks like it was drawn by preschoolers who haven’t mastered markers. It lacks any particular beauty, symmetry, elegance, or the traits typical of minimalism. The shaky edges of the letters touch each other, creating a chaotic jumble. But this imperfection fills the emblem with a spirit of fun, perfectly matching the goal of the cartoon—to emphasize the importance of play for children’s learning and development.
Thin, dark blue outlines around the letters are uneven, mostly placed on the left and bottom sides. The designers intentionally made the shadows one-sided to achieve a three-dimensional effect. The visual depth reminds us that the logo belongs to a modern animated project, and all its deliberate messiness is just a facade hiding a philosophical view of the world.
To the right of the inscription is a paw print, hinting that all the characters in the series are dogs—big and small, of various breeds. They solve family problems, work, study, go shopping, and engage in ordinary human activities. All elements of the emblem are colored in a gentle grayish-blue shade. This refers to the cartoon’s main character—Bluey, the puppy, named for the color of his fur.
2018 – today
The animated series debuted in 2018 with a new logo that marked the final point in the creative search. The designers combined the most memorable features of the previous emblems: uneven lines, rounded corners, asymmetry, and a pleasant blue color. The result was a unique inscription that perfectly captures the concept of Bluey.
The bubbly Hello Headline font inspired the creators of the logo—this is indicated, for example, by the characteristic shape of the “B.” But after significant refinement, each letter gained its unique features:
- “B” became bolder and more rounded;
- The horizontal line of “L” was shortened and curved upward;
- The left side of “U” is longer than the right;
- “E” is noticeably deformed and compressed;
- The tail of “Y” is extended so much that it touches the “L.”
One could say that “Y” is the main “culprit” behind all the transformations, as it’s due to “Y” that the designers had to change the shape of the other letters to make them fit within the limited space. For the same reason, “U” is slightly raised, and “E” is lowered, almost creating a visual balance for each other.
This unusual arrangement is associated with a construction set, where each piece has to be in its place. At the same time, the uneven lines of the letters appear flexible, like pliable clay or jelly-like slime. The transformations that the inscription underwent added a sense of playfulness and childlike spontaneity, which are the core of the cartoon. And even without the paw print, the logo fully reflects the concept of Bluey.
The wordmark’s color also changed, although the designers aimed to stick to the old palette that matches the main character’s name. The new shade of blue is more concise, restrained, and calm. It balances the excessive energy of the letters composed of dynamic lines.