The modern logo of M&M, the most famous candy brand, reflects the founders’ names and the manufacturing material’s peculiarity. The conciseness and straightforwardness of today’s emblem have become the key to the ideal beauty and recognition of products.
M&M’s: Brand overview
Founded: | September 10, 1941 |
Founder: | Mars, Incorporated |
Headquarters: |
United States |
Website: | mms.com |
Meaning and History
The packaging was introduced in 1941. The M&M logo has always consisted of a wordmark without any additional characters. The only difference has always been the font used and the color palette.
What is M & M’s?
M & M’s is a brand of multi-colored round hard-coated candies with a white letter “m” written on it. It belongs to the American company Mars, and its name stands for Mars & Murrie’s. The first pills of this brand appeared in 1941. They were bought by the United States Army so that soldiers could carry with them chocolate that does not melt in hot climates.
1941 – 1954
The first M&M logo was distinguished by lowercase letters, a traditional serif font that was slightly narrower and extended in height. The letter “S” was less than the letter “M.” The color palette of the original M&M logo was monochrome.
1954 – 1971
The inscription has been changed. Now the logo used a hand-drawn font of an uneven style, which was yellow and located on a black background. It was the brightest M&M logo in brand history.
1971 – 1988
In 1971, the logo changed its color scheme from yellow to brown, and the letters acquired a slightly different font. This version of the visual brand identity design has remained with the company for 17 years.
1988 – 2001
Dark brown and chocolate are now the primary color of the M&M logo. The inscription is made with cleaner and bold lines. This is a simple but powerful logo that will remain with the brand for the next 13 years.
2001 – 2004
The 2001 redesign brings a new, brighter shade of brown to the M&M wordmark. Now it also has a white-brown outline that adds volume to the logo.
2004 – 2018
In 2004, the M&M logo was located diagonally on the package, and brown with a black shadow, adding dynamics and a modern look. The letters are placed on a white background that follows the outline of the emblem.
2019 – 2022
The 2019 redesign returns the flat two-dimensional shape of the M&M logo, again making dark brown the primary color in the brand’s palette. The letters are still located diagonally, but now they look more minimalistic and more straightforward. But in this case, simplicity is the key to beauty. The ampersand sign visually seems to be located above the letters and has a white outline.
2022 – today
In 2022, M&M’s rebranded with the iconic logo. The American corporation Mars is involved in this because she owns the brand of chocolate dragees. The executives hired creative agency Jones Knowles Ritchie to make the design more recognizable without going beyond the global concept.
As a result, the inscription “M&M’s” was aligned horizontally. This is the only thing that has changed in the emblem, apart from the disappearance of the “R” in the circle (the registered trademark used to be above the letter “s”). The change in orientation in space emphasized the ampersand, which symbolizes unity and links the names of the two founders of the company: Mars & Murrie. Now he represents the brand’s focus on bringing people together.
The brand name is not displayed diagonally, but this does not stop the logo from being dynamic. It is similar in structure to the 1986 and 1991 versions, only now the ampersand is brought to the forefront and outlined in white, partially overlapping the two Ms. The brown letters have become lighter because the designers decided to make the lettering more optimistic without using extraneous colors.
Font and Colors
The “M” on the candy and the M&M’s wordmark has the same wide rectangular serifs. Moreover, all “M” look lowercase, although they are uppercase. Here we are not talking about a full-fledged font but about a unique set of glyphs. Although the sweets manufacturer has recently had its own branded typeface, it is not used in the logo. This eclectic sequin was created in 2022 by Jones Knowles Ritchie. The design of the emblem has not changed much in recent years. Both “M” s are similar to the glyphs in Aachen SB-Medium. As for the “s” and the ampersand, they resemble the corresponding characters from the ITC Lubalin Graph Demi.
All elements are brown, even though M&M’s is considered the most colorful brand of chocolate. The color of the inscription is associated with cocoa beans, from which sweets are made because, under a bright coating of glaze, all dragees are the same – brown. Wide white lines are used as outlines.
M&M’s color codes
Brown | Hex color: | #592411 |
---|---|---|
RGB: | 89 36 17 | |
CMYK: | 38 83 74 45 | |
Pantone: | PMS 168 C |
What does the M&M logo mean?
The logo represents the name M & M’s, which was derived from the names of Forrest Mars Sr. and William Murrie, the entrepreneurs who pioneered the famous brand.
What does the M&M logo stand for?
The two ‘m’ letters in the M&M logo stand for Forrest Mars Sr. and William Murrie. The former stole the idea of hard-shell chocolates from the British confectionery factory Smarties, and the latter received 20% of the new brand as the son of the president of Hershey’s.
What is the font of the M & M’s logo?
Both m’s in m & m’s look like they were taken from the Aachen SB-Medium font, while the s resembles a similar letter from ITC Lubalin Graph Demi. In this case, ‘m’ and ‘s’ are similar to each other with bold lines and rectangular serifs.
What does the logo symbolize M&M’s Logo?
Since M&M’s logo consists only of an inscription, the color is the most symbolic in it. Brown is similar to a shade of milk chocolate because the chocolate filling is hidden under the multi-colored shell of all dragees. The rounded parts of the letters are associated with the shape of M&M’s, while the rectangular serifs create a visual balance. The ampersand is a symbol of unity, an inseparable connection between the two founders of the confectionery company and, in general, between all people.
What does the M&M logo mean?
The M&M’s logo contains the name of this brand. It, in turn, refers to two people: Forrest E. Mars Sr. and Bruce Murrie. The first of them decided to conquer America with small chocolate dragees in a colored shell, and the second provided financial support to the entrepreneur. Together, they used the first letters of their last names to make the brand recognizable.
What is the font of the M&M’s logo?
The M&M’s logo appears to use a custom set of glyphs. Despite the external similarity, the two ‘M’ differ in one detail: the first of them has an additional rectangular serif in the upper left corner, while the second does not. In this case, both letters look like lowercase, although, in fact, they are uppercase. The ‘S’ and ampersand are similar to those in the ITC Lubalin Graph Demi font. In turn, ‘M’ has much in common with the characters from Aachen SB-Medium.
What does M&M stand for, and what is the slogan for M&M?
The two M’s in M&M’s stand for the names of people who were involved in creating the confectionery brand: Forrest E. Mars Sr. and Bruce Murrie. The ampersand represents their fruitful collaboration, which is reflected in the logo. One of the earliest M&M's advertising slogans was ‘Melts in your Mouth, not in Your Hands.’ It appeared in 1954. Then other variants began to be used, including ‘Give them a home at your place’ and ‘Chocolate is better in Color.’
Who created the M&M logo?
Nicole Garcia is considered the author of M&M’s logo. This graphic designer came up with the original version of the lettering. And the modern wordmark, which appeared in 2022, was developed by employees of the creative agency Jones Knowles Ritchie. They tweaked the details a bit without going beyond the existing concept. The company, better known as JKR, was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in China, Singapore, the US, and the UK.
What color was originally used for the letters on the M&M’s?
The very first chocolate M&M’s were very bright. Mostly brown, green, purple, and yellow candies were produced. The color of the letters depended on the color of the shell: the manufacturer tried to make them contrasting so that the brand name could be seen better. At the same time, the inscription on the logo was black.