Crayola Logo PNG
Creativity is the Crayola logo’s main feature. It focuses on creativity, imagination, and a positive worldview. Kindness and cordiality- that’s what this logo conveys. It focuses on the joy of creating and giving others only positive things.
Crayola’s history began in 1864, when Joseph Binney founded Peekskill Chemical Works in New York to produce charcoal and carbon black. In 1885, his son, Edwin Binney, and nephew, C. Harold Smith, took over and formed Binney & Smith, making red oxide pigment for barns and carbon black for rubber tires.
In 1900, the company opened a plant in Easton, Pennsylvania, and entered the school market with slate pencils and dustless chalk, which won a gold medal at the Paris Exposition. After teachers complained that children’s wax crayons were expensive or unsafe, Binney & Smith launched Crayola in 1903. The first box had eight colors and cost five cents. Edwin’s wife, Alice, named it after “craie,” French for chalk, and “oleagineux,” meaning oily.
Crayola grew by expanding into larger boxes and school supplies. By 1905, it sold sets from 6 to 30 crayons. In 1949, the 48-color box arrived, and in 1958, the famous 64-color box with a built-in sharpener appeared. In 1962-1963, the company renamed “Flesh” “Peach” during the civil rights era. Later releases included fluorescent crayons in 1972, Silly Putty after a 1977 rights purchase, and Crayola markers in 1978.
Sales passed $100 million in 1981, and Hallmark Cards bought Binney & Smith in 1984. Crayola added colored pencils and washable markers in 1987, rotated colors in 1990, and invited consumers to name new shades in 1993. The 100 billionth crayon was made in 1996, and Crayola was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in 1998. On January 1, 2007, Binney & Smith became Crayola LLC. Its competitors included Faber-Castell and RoseArt.
Meaning and History
The brand has operated for almost 150 years, and its visual recognition has grown stronger over time. In total, about 10 logo options were presented to Crayola’s target audience. Each redesign introduced new elements, making the logo more modern and unique. As a result, it stood out from the competition.
What is Crayola?
Crayola is a top choice for art lovers. The company became famous for producing high-quality colored pencils. More than 50 million customers across the US purchase Crayola products every year.
1903 – 1925
The first version of the Crayola logo appeared in 1903. The main element was a white wordmark on a dark green background. The background shape was unusual, almost mystical. The brand name was set in a classic, bold sans-serif font. Even though all the letters were capital, the first and last looked more voluminous. Moreover, the first “C” repeated the frame’s shape, and therefore buyers sometimes read the name as “Rayola.”
1925 – 1935
Crayola’s retro logo used two typefaces. One large, bold font with triangular serifs is centered for the brand name. The second is small, thin, and sans-serif, used for the phrase “TRADE MARK.” In the word “CRAYOLA,” the first “C” and the last “A” were enlarged to suggest the company’s creative nature. The golden inscriptions were inside a heavily deformed green oval with a narrowing in the center. The base’s unusual, attractive shape, with curved lines, created a sense of movement. The emblem’s bright colors represented the diversity of Crayola’s products.
1935 – 1948
The brand name was inside a green rectangle. This time, the letters were all the same size, and the font looked like a cross between SoftMaker’s Priamos Serial Xbold and DTP Types’ ArbescoDT Bold. The simple, concise logo design reflected the company’s core values, such as accessibility and safety.
1948 – 1956
The emblem’s inscription takes the form of an arch because it resembles a rainbow, associated with bright colors, childhood, and creativity. The font also changed: the designers used drawn, not written, letters to reflect the company’s main activity, producing colored pencils. The pale yellow brand name looked crisp and contrasted against the dark turquoise rectangle.
1956 – 1966
A dark blue arched “CRAYOLA” logo was used for a decade. The background was an orange rectangle, creating a bright, cheerful mood. Bold letters were decorated with short, sharp serifs. The dynamic font emphasized the company’s creative approach to producing children’s art supplies.
1958 – 1984
The minimalist brand name appeared on a blank white background. Its sans-serif resembled Dunwich Type Founders’ modified Lorimer No. 2 Condensed Medium. Strict black letters symbolized the company’s seriousness and responsibility.
1967 – 1972
The key change to the logo is the updated color palette. Now they were green letters on a yellow background. The bright colors attracted more attention, helping the brand stand out in a competitive market.
The writing style has also become more modern. The letter lines have become more elegant. All letters except the initial are in lowercase.
1984 – 2006
Perhaps the most concise logo in the company’s history. Now it was black lettering on a white background. The strict and confident sans-serif typeface looked easy; it looked spectacular on different surfaces.
1997 – 2006
At this stage, several logo versions were used in parallel. The first was a lowercase wordmark with the brand name using a green gradient. The image had a three-dimensional feel, with a black shadow. Below the inscription, a slightly rounded horizontal line was divided into blocks painted in all the colors of the rainbow.
2002 – today
Since 2006, a serif green lettering with a pronounced orange shadow and green outline has also been used. This version of the logo looked bizarre but interesting.
2006 – today
The most recent version was introduced in 2006. This is perhaps the most user-friendly logo ever. The inscription “Crayola” is inside the yellow oval. The gradient shifts toward orange on the right side. The title is again in green with a yellow outline.
Under the inscription is a “smile,” divided into rainbow-colored blocks. The oval itself, with a voluminous green outline, is slightly inclined, as if it were rolling.
Font and Colors
Several font variations have been used throughout the many redesigns of the “Crayola” logo. Globally, it was a classic, bold sans-serif font with a distinctive style of character design.
The color palette changed constantly. In the latest logo versions, the emphasis has been on bright colors. The yellow-green color palette is associated with positive emotions and life, and arouses interest among potential buyers.