“If the road has become bumpy and uneven, it’s time to visit the company’s stores,” advises the Discount Tire logo. Installing tires in a car repair shop will eliminate problems. The emblem promises a good mood and emotional upsurge from successful purchases.
Discount Tire: Brand overview
Founded: | 1960 |
Headquarters: | Scottsdale, Arizona, U.S. |
Website: | discounttire.com |
Meaning and History
The network owes its origin to Bruce Thomas Halle, an American businessman, and philanthropist. An enviable industriousness distinguished this man: from childhood, he earned money by performing the duties of a lawnmower, gravedigger, and newspaper peddler. After graduating, he got a job in a car dealership and tried to start his own auto parts business with a friend. But their common business turned out to be unprofitable, and in 1959 the store went bankrupt. Bruce did not lose heart; he borrowed money to open another outlet that sold only tires and wheels a year later. Four years later, he opened a second store, and by 2018 their number had reached more than a thousand.
The developing network eventually became known as Discount Tire. It is noteworthy that Halle did not initially have any business plan. He rented an old building, decorated it with a tired sign, and waited for buyers to come to him. Accordingly, the company’s current logo did not appear immediately: the name Discount Tire did not exist then, and in fact, it is the basis of the wordmark.
What is Discount Tire?
Discount Tire is an independent tire and rim dealer, which also owns its network of car services, where it provides car maintenance services. The company specializes in wheels, but since 2021 it has also begun selling and installing wiper blades.
The two-line inscription seems massive due to the large letters. The top word is red, but not completely – a thin black line runs along the outline of each character. At the same time, the letters seem to jump because they are tilted to the right and left at different angles. The second half of the brand name is black. It is centered in the bottom row and inside a white rounded rectangle with a thin black border around the edge. Both words are bold sans serif, but “DISCOUNT” uses a modified version with wider strokes and reduced letter spacing.
There is a separate logo for America’s Tire alternative brand under which the company operates in California. The designers kept the overall concept, simply replacing “DISCOUNT” with “AMERICA’S.” The elements’ style, font, color, and layout remained unchanged.
Contrast is created between the two parts of the Discount Tire wordmark, as the top looks bright and dynamic while the bottom is restrained and stable. They characterize the company from two points of view. On the one hand, this is a developing and creative chain of stores; on the other hand, it is a serious retailer whose image is very important. The frame at the bottom of the logo symbolizes a solid foundation, while the red word at the top hints at the need for constant movement and evokes positive associations.
Font and Colors
The second half of the name (“TIRE”) is written in a standard sans-serif similar to ParaType’s Pragmatica Extra Bold. They roughly match the shape of the capital “R” and the length of the strokes “E.” But in the logo, the vertical “T” line is noticeably thicker than the horizontal one. DISCOUNT has much more complicated typography because it is not a pure font but a modified one. The designers took the grotesque as a basis – perhaps the same as that of “TIRE” – and changed it, changing the thickness of the lines and rounding off some of the corners.
The logo uses one of the strongest color schemes: a combination of red, black, and white. The contrast they create looks bright and immediately attracts attention, which is what the chain of stores was trying to achieve.
Discount Tire color codes
Pigment Red | Hex color: | #ed1923 |
---|---|---|
RGB: | 237 25 35 | |
CMYK: | 0 89 85 7 | |
Pantone: | PMS Bright Red C |
Raisin Black | Hex color: | #232020 |
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RGB: | 35 32 32 | |
CMYK: | 0 9 9 86 | |
Pantone: | PMS Neutral Black C |