National Geographic Logo PNG
The National Geographic emblem opens the door to a bright and beautiful world of nature; behind it lie journeys, thrilling adventures, and discoveries that reveal the amazing wonders of our planet.
The National Geographic Society was founded on January 13, 1888, at the Cosmos Club in Washington, D.C., by 33 scientists and patrons who formed the society to expand geographic knowledge. It was incorporated on January 27. Gardiner Greene Hubbard became the first president, followed by Alexander Graham Bell in 1897.
The first issue of National Geographic Magazine appeared in September 1888 as a technical journal with a limited readership. Growth changed in 1899 when Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor shifted the format toward accessible writing and strong visual material. In 1905, full-page photographs from Tibet marked a turning point, and by 1908, images occupied over half of the magazine.
The publication documented expeditions, including Robert Peary’s 1909 North Pole expedition. Color photography emerged in the 1910s, and a cartographic division, launched in 1915, supplied maps during World War II. By the 1930s, circulation exceeded one million.
In 1985, Steve McCurry photographed Sharbat Gula for a widely recognized cover. By the late 20th century, circulation reached around 12 million, rivaling that of the Smithsonian Institution.
Television expansion began in the late 1990s under News Corporation, culminating in the US launch in 2001 with Fox Cable Networks. In 2015, 21st Century Fox acquired a 73% stake in National Geographic Partners. In 2019, The Walt Disney Company completed the acquisition. In 2023, staff journalists were laid off, and in 2024, the magazine ended US newsstand distribution.
Meaning and History
The National Geographic logo was designed by the branding agency Chermayeff & Geismar. They had a specific task: to depict something neutral, suitable for all areas of the scientific association’s activities – from film production to environmental protection. Thus, the famous brand name was born and adopted by all of society’s trademarks.
What is National Geographic?
National Geographic is a TV channel and magazine belonging to the namesake society. It is dedicated to issues related to flora and fauna, scientific discoveries, history, culture, and nature in all its manifestations.
1997 – 2001
The debut logo consists of two parts: text and an icon to the left of the inscription. It resembles an elongated rectangle and resembles a standard magazine or display window. This is because the designers played with the society’s name as a “window to the world.” The yellow lines are broad. In height, they are comparable to the neighboring phrase “National Geographic Channel.” The inscriptions are arranged in three rows and done in a serif font.
2001 – 2005
During this period, the name took a different form. The top and middle parts of National Geographic remained the same, while the bottom Channel had a dividing line and a different writing style. As a result, it lost its serifs and was reduced to half its original size.
2005 – 2016
The management approved a new logo with a changed sans-serif font. Designers removed the dividing line between the parts, returned the word “Channel” to its original size, and highlighted it in gray.
2016 – today
Since National Geographic is a digital and satellite channel, a magazine publisher, and a series of guidebooks, the administration decided to unify the logo across all these platforms. In the updated version, it now suits everything simultaneously. For this, developers removed the word “Channel.”
Font and Colors
The logo has been updated several times, but the main elements have remained consistent: a large white rectangle with a yellow frame on the left and the full brand name on the right, set in a standard font. Most often, the changes concerned the text design: it was black-and-gray, three-lined, and had a horizontal line. The current version features the phrase “National Geographic,” split across two lines, in the sans serif font Stone Sans SemiBold.
Colors include yellow (for the rectangular frame), black (for the letters), and white (for the background).