CBS Logo

CBS Logo PNG

The CBS logo is a succinct mystical demonstration of the essence and philosophy of the brand, a sign of the transition to visual content. The CBS abbreviation and the symbol on the company logo are recognizable and point users to the brand owners.

Meaning and History

William Golden is considered the author of the famous CBS emblem. But few people know that the designer took the idea from the Belgian artist Rene Magritte. We are talking about the surrealistic painting The False Mirror, which depicts an eye with clouds instead of an iris. The original CBS logo also had a blue sky with clouds inside the eye. Kurt Weiss drew it under the direction of William. But this version did not reach us: the head of the broadcasting company, Frank Stanton, personally removed the skyscape, and since then, the icon has been black and white. At the same time, officials claim that the emblem was inspired by the symbols on the Amish barns, which were supposed to scare away evil spirits.

The company received the unofficial nickname Eye Network after its logo depicting the human eye. It appeared in 1951, replacing the old brand names with inscriptions.

What is CBS?

CBS is the abbreviated name for Columbia Broadcasting System, an American television and radio network that is part of the corporation of the same name. It is also one of the three largest broadcast stations in the United States.

1927 – 1931

The beginning of the Columbia Broadcasting System’s history is considered 1927. But in fact, the radio network under that name appeared in 1929. Before that, there was the Columbia Phonograph Broadcasting Company, which was renamed and restarted after bankruptcy. So the logo shown here does not refer to 1927, but to the time the network was rebranded after it went on air again. It depicts a classic vintage radio microphone inside a massive structure designed to improve sound quality. He stands on a makeshift table in the form of a double horizontal line. For symmetry, another similar double strip is drawn from above. Between them stretches a broken line, similar to an increasing linear graph.

Above the picture is the word “Columbia,” and below the bottom is the phrase “BROADCASTING SYSTEM INC.” which is divided into two lines. All elements, including letters, are black. Serif typeface is used for the inscription. The spacing between the glyphs is so narrow that the “C” and “o” are connected, as in handwriting.

1931 – 1935

The number of stations in the network increased rapidly, so its owners thought about rebranding. So the new CBS logo was born. It also shows a round retro microphone for voice recording, but now only its upper part without a stem is visible. The design consists of white concentric circles with black outlines of varying widths and four star-shaped triangles. Geometric figures are placed inside a black ring, along which the phrase “THE COLUMBIA BROADCASTING SYSTEM” is written in bold grotesque. Letter spacing has become even narrower, so now closely spaced glyphs are separated only by black outlines. The letters themselves are white.

1935 – 1938

In 1935, the radio network adopted a logo with the abbreviation “CBS” instead of long lettering. Three black letters are attached to the top of the same black ring, so they are arranged with an arcuate slope. The font looks asymmetric because “B” has only one small rectangular serif, while “C” and “S” have no serifs at all. The artists detailed the inside of an antique radio microphone and jagged the triangular lines to make it clear they were springs.

1938 – 1941

In 1938, CBS bought the record company and changed its logo along the way. Instead of a round microphone, the designers depicted an abstract triangular design with a circle in the middle. The frame around the perimeter of the triangle creates an optical illusion. Due to the violation of depth perception, it is unclear which edges are protruding and which are on the side. At the top is an inverted trapezoid with black letters “CBS” written in block type.

1941

In 1941, the artists changed the appearance of the microphone. It still has a retro design, but its shape is no longer round but vertically elongated. The only reminder of the circle is the black frame ring in which the logo is placed. The right side of the microphone consists of 24 square dots arranged in 3 rows in 8 rows. The left side looks like a deformed rhombus. A thin horizontal line is drawn at the top, emphasizing the black abbreviation “CBS.” The font of the inscription is a bold grotesque Helvetica Condensed. At the bottom is a microphone leg in the form of a wide hook-shaped line.

1941 – 1951

One of the emblems of the television and radio network contains the letters “CBS” – short for Columbia Broadcasting System. The designers used a sinuous semicircular font and a simple black and white palette.

1946 – 1965

In 1946, the company introduced another logo with the abbreviation “CBS.” From the upper right corner, light falls from a spotlight, illuminating the inscription. Thanks to the artistic combination of light and shadow, it appears three-dimensional.

1951 – today

The current version of the logo was unveiled on October 20, 1951, by CBS Creative Director William Golden. The idea to draw an eye came to him quite by accident when he was driving through southeastern Pennsylvania and saw the Shaker’s religious community’s unique polygonal barns. Hexagonal signs were depicted on the buildings, which were intended to protect against evil spirits.

The artist combined occult drawings with the Pennsylvania hexadecimal symbol to create a new CBS logo. In 1952, he suggested changing the mystical eye to another “identifier,” but the company president was strongly against the redesign.

Font and Colors

The current CBS logo is known as Eyemark. It depicts an object that resembles a human eye. The figure consists of three geometric elements: a large black circle, which plays a background, a pointed white ellipse, and a small black pupil circle. It is a symbol of television broadcasting, modern media technologies, a sign of the transition from audio to visual content.

The graphic logo is often supplemented with the acronym “CBS” and a particular unit’s name. Moreover, each version has its font. For example, “CBS News” has long, thin serifs, “CBS Sports” is grotesque, and the word “Radio” is written in an unusual designer typeface.

The color scheme also varies. Mainly monochrome combinations of white with black or with shades of blue prevail. Sometimes there are emblems with a gradient and a combination of several bright colors.

CBS color codes