The Costco logo promises a huge selection of goods in the company’s halls and the ability to buy them in large quantities. At the same time, the emblem makes an allowance for the need for permanent membership in the club, which gives the right to enjoy the privileges of the network.
Costco: Brand overview
Founded: | September 15, 1983 |
Founder: | James Sinegal, Jeffrey Brotman |
Headquarters: |
Issaquah, Washington, U.S. |
Website: | costco.com |
Meaning and History
The iconic red and blue Costco Wholesale Corporation logo took on its current look at the millennium turn. Before that, it had been refined several times, although the general concept remained the same: horizontal inscription with minimal decor.
What is Costco?
Costco is an American chain of stores that serve only registered members and offers them advantageous discounts. Its full name is Costco Wholesale Corporation. It sells various products, including cosmetics, furniture, household appliances, clothing, and food. It is one of the largest retailers in the world, with numerous outlets in the USA, Australia, South Korea, Japan, Mexico, Canada, and other countries.
1976 – 1993
The modern Costco is the successor to the Price Club warehouse chain that began in 1976. Its predecessor had a very simple emblem: the black word PRICE CLUB on a white background.
1993 – 1997
In 1993, the American warehouse chain Price Club got a new logo, which was used for several years after the merger with Costco (the two brands continued to exist separately as part of the same company). It was a wordmark containing the name of a retail outlet. The lettering, in block type and painted in pale blue, looked like a neon sign. This impression was created, first of all, due to the shape of glyphs with rectangular intra-letter gaps. A similar typeface is Yoyo’s NiseJSRF Regular. The phrase was completely converted to uppercase and looked balanced.
1983 – 1993
The Costco company appeared in 1983. Its name was presented on the trademark. To accentuate attention, the designers used a dark red color.
1993 – 1997
After merging with Price Club, the chain of stores worked separately for some time. The rebranding affected the logo: the font became italic, the color of the lettering became light red, and a horizontal blue stripe appeared at the bottom.
1997 – today
In 1997, PriceCostco became Costco Wholesale Corporation and introduced a new logo. The designers retained the iconic brand image: they left red lettering and added a blue word “WHOLESALE” with three short horizontal lines.
Font and Colors
Costco has a concept trademark: it contains the name of the chain of stores and the corporate colors with which it is associated. Three parallel stripes make the text dynamic.
The logo creators used the commercial Futura Extra Bold Oblique font. They lengthened the letters a bit and positioned them at a slight angle, tilted to the right. Another highlight of Costco is its eye-catching palette, which includes just two colors: red (# E31837) and blue (# 005DAA).
Costco color codes
Alizarin Crimson | Hex color: | #e61031 |
---|---|---|
RGB: | 230 16 49 | |
CMYK: | 0 93 79 10 | |
Pantone: | PMS 185 C |
Medium Persian Blue | Hex color: | #005daa |
---|---|---|
RGB: | 0 93 170 | |
CMYK: | 100 45 0 33 | |
Pantone: | PMS 2945 C |