NBC Logo

NBC Logo PNG

The energy of joy, good mood, and fun comes from the emblem. The company with its programs attracts people with completely different interests. The NBC logo is an example of diversity and coverage of a wide range of issues.

Meaning and History

The history of NBC logos can be roughly divided into two eras: before and after the peacock. In recent years, the bird emblem has evolved markedly, moving from a detailed illustration to an image of multicolored feathers that represent subdivisions of a large media network. But why the peacock?

The National Broadcasting Company began using color television technology in 1953, well before its competitors. And in 1956, she got the earliest badge with the image of a bright peacock. Contrary to misconceptions, this was not an official logo but an element of on-air identification that was supposed to make people buy color TVs.

The fact is that at that moment, NBC was part of the Radio Corporation of America. An electronics company wanted to show viewers the benefits of expensive color televisions. To do this, she decided to decorate the NBC broadcast with something colorful. Rainbows and butterflies were dismissed as too banal. A peacock came to the rescue – a reflection of the slogan “proud as a peacock.”

The multicolored bird did not appear on the official NBC logo until 1979 when it was discovered that the abstract N logo, created a little earlier, was similar to the symbol of the Nebraska ETV Network. Moreover, the National Broadcasting Company paid $700,000 for its sign, while the Nebraska television station paid much less than $100. To avoid copyright infringement, NBC had to add an image of a peacock with a large tail to the stylized letter “N.”

What is NBC?

This is the name of the American television company and its broadcasting network. NBC has been the second oldest television station in the world since it was formed in 1926. The network is part of NBCUniversal and has been owned by Comcast since 2009.

1926 – 1931

The radio company’s career began with a black-and-white emblem, which depicts a round studio microphone with a foot, surrounded by nine zippers. The background is an unmarked map of the United States of America. It schematically repeats the borders of the country, which are circled as if by a microphone cord. Above them, in the form of an arc, there are three large letters – the abbreviation of the company’s name. “NBC” is in all caps with serifs.

1931 – 1942

In 1931, the broadcasting studio approved a different logo, completely different from the debut one. First, the fact that it was not graphic but textual. Secondly, the focus is on the name of the company. To do this, the designers placed the abbreviated NBC lettering diagonally in a square with rounded corners. It goes down from left to right and contains letters with thin serifs. All lightning bolts are now centered around “B.” The square inside is white, outlined by a black stripe forming a continuous frame. The transition to a geometric figure of this form is associated with the spread of the television network.

1943 – 1946

The developers redrew the logo by removing the black border of the square and filling it with long red lines. On the left are short zigzag lightning bolts for the radio network; on the right are long wavy lines for the television network. They radiate from the new-style studio microphone used at the time: elongated, on a handle. In the middle of the microphone is the abbreviation “NBC” in vertically running white letters.

1946 – 1952

For the next few years, the broadcasting organization chose a laconic logo – text. It consists of its name placed horizontally. For him, the letters were taken from the identity of 1931-1942. Subtle serif marks are slightly elongated and slanted. They are painted black and are on a white background.

1952 – 1953

For another year, the company used a minimalistic text logo, but the designers completely changed the lettering style. They removed the serifs, set the symbols straight, made them smooth and voluminous. To do this, the authors added black shadows to the left of the white letters. The symbols turned out to be expressive, large, three-dimensional.

1953 – 1959

In 1953, a radically different logo was introduced. It is made in the form of a xylophone and a hammer, which denote the chimes of the NBC service, which were first heard in 1927 in the form of a seven-tone sequence. This symbolism was adopted during the Tournament of Roses Parade in December. Subsequently, the number of notes was corrected and reduced to three due to problems with the correct orchestration.

The xylophone emblem was first used to signal the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) adoption of a new color standard. It consists of three vertical rectangles colored red, green, and blue. They are marked with white letters from the name of the company. Below is a black hammer for playing the instrument.

1956 – 1975

At this time, another version of the logo appeared – a color one, in the form of a peacock. For the first time, he accompanied the western “Laramie,” so he was popularly nicknamed “Laramie peacock.” It was designed by John J. Graham and Herb Lubalin from Sudler & Hennessey. The emblem is an exotic white bird that stands against the backdrop of an open tail. It has 11 multi-colored stripes, repeated twice. At the end of each is a small ball with a sharp spike, symbolizing the tip of a long feather. The paints repeat the colors of the rainbow and go in the same sequence: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet (there is only one in the logo – the central one).

1958 – 1975

The next logo is called “NBC Snake” because it is an animated abbreviation, the letters of which grow from one another and look like a snake. It was used in parallel with Laramie peacock. Its developer is also John J. Graham.

1975 – 1979

The authors of the next logo are Lippincott & Margulies and Dolphin Productions (TV). It was called “Big N” and was used for a limited time because it was canceled due to legal action from Nebraska ETV. The logo looks like a stylized geometric letter from the Helvetica Bold font. She has two cut rectangles, inverted and connected in the center.

1979 – 1986

In this version, the authors (Lippincott & Margulies, Fred Silverman) left only the blue outline from the capital letter and placed a peacock with its head held high on its background. Therefore, this logo is popularly nicknamed “The Proud N.” A thin blue stripe surrounds the bird. Her feathers are mirrored (in pairs on the left and right) and end in the center with one blue color, marked with a white stroke that resembles a drop.

1986 – 2010

After the redesign, the number of stripes in the peacock’s tail was reduced to 6, and the designers turned its head to the right so that it looks into the future. They made a beak in the form of a triangular notch at the edge of the purple feather. The network name is now placed at the bottom. The authors of this version are Chermayeff end Geismar, Harry Marks, and Pacific Data Images.

2010 – 2013

As a result of adjustments for the media format, the emblem received a “glassiness” due to the translucent gray color, which replaced the white. He also stroked along the contour of the tail.

2013 – 2022

Now the logo is used with a lot of highlights and a large peacock. Due to the reflections, the logo received volume and became three-dimensional.

2022 – today

The new National Broadcasting Company logo was unveiled in November 2022 and officially launched in December. After the redesign, the gradient disappeared. Colors have been muted to match the NBC logo with the Peacock streaming service launched by NBCUniversal in 2020.

New York-based design studio Sibling Rivalry slightly increased the space between the feathers to make the pattern look more harmonious. Even the asymmetric deepening in the purple part of the tail does not interfere with the visual balance. This is the peacock’s beak, which is formed by negative white space.

The new NBC logo was inspired by the 1986 version by Steff Geissbuhler of Chermayeff & Geismar Inc. But the modern font is noticeably different. The lettering at the bottom uses a custom typeface called NBC Tinker. It was custom-made and based on Sweet Sans Pro.

Font and Colors

The identity of the broadcasting company is divided into two periods: before the peacock and with him. It is very important for the service, as it is associated with the history of television in general, not only with this company. Its tail marks the transition from black-and-white image standard to color.

The logo has used Helvetica Bold, ITC Serif Gothic Bold, and NBC Futura (custom version) at various times.

The six colors in the logo convey the RYB palette and NBC sections. Yellow is news; green is performances; blue is networks; purple is radio stations; red is entertainment; orange is sports.

NBC color codes