Designers have created a “Nordic” emblem with elements of cartoon style for the Canadian animation studio. Despite the external cold, the Nelvana logo radiates hope, dreaminess, confidence, resilience, and faith in a brighter future.
Nelvana: Brand overview
Founded: | July 30, 1971 |
Founder: | Michael Hirsh, Patrick Loubert, Clive A. Smith |
Headquarters: | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
Website: | nelvana.com |
Meaning and History
The company’s logo was redesigned six times during its development. However, the main element, the polar bear looking at the polar star, remained unchanged.
What is Nelvana?
It is one of the largest Canadian animation studios, with over 40 years of experience. In addition to producing animated films, she is also known as a distributor of animated series, including on such cult sites as Nickelodeon.
1978 – 2005
The first version of the Nelvana logo appeared in 1978. It consisted of a single element, the studio emblem. It is an image of a bear turned to the right with its muzzle up. The image was made in black and white, but the bear looked quite confident and modern despite this.
1985 – 2003
The image of the bear remained unchanged. At the same time, he was inside an arc consisting of seven black stars. Also, a verbal inscription appeared for the first time, which was an animal. A classic sans-serif font was chosen for the name Nelvana. It consisted of large capital letters with thin lines. At the same time, there is a significant space between the symbols, which makes the logo lighter and more open to users.
1995 – 2005
Another redesign of the logo brought minimal changes to the original version of the logo. The black outline in the polar bear drawing has been replaced with a light blue one.
At the same time, the second version of the updated logo was presented. The bear image also has a blue-and-white color scheme. The emblem is inside a blue arc, which is seven white stars. The studio name has an identical classic sans-serif font. However, the color has also been changed to blue.
1999 – 2005
The new redesign of Nelvana made small changes to the previous version. Significantly changed the style of writing verbal inscriptions. The studio’s name has become more voluminous and almost immediately catches the eye. Also, the lines in the letters are more rounded. All symbols are closer to the arc and the main image, indicating the elements’ interaction. The arch uses a blue gradient to make the Nelvana logo look more modern and confident.
2004 – today
For the first time, changes were made to the image of the bear. Now, he looks more natural, thanks to the attention to detail, such as the wool’s appearance and the muzzle’s high-quality rendering. Of the seven stars, only one remained, and the arch was completely removed from the logo. Thus, the picture began to look more realistic and modern. The verbal inscription has become voluminous thanks to white letters with blue outlines and a barely noticeable shadow. There was virtually no spacing between characters.
2016 – today
The most recent redesign has resulted in significant changes to the logo. Now, the key element is the name “Nelvana,” which is twice as large as the image of the animal. It seems that the bear was left as a tribute to tradition. Moreover, the star has also been simplified. Now, it has become not five-pointed but four-pointed. If we talk about the name, then the updates concern the size of the word inscription and the font. It has become more modern and confident, and the rounded corners in the letters immediately catch the eye. In addition, for the first time, lowercase characters are used rather than uppercase.
Font and Colors
Different fonts were used at different stages of Nelvana’s functioning, ranging from classic sans-serif to modern style with three-dimensional letters and rounded corners.
The black-and-white color scheme, which the company actively used for the first time after the studio’s launch, was replaced with blue-and-white. The latter seems more suited to Nelvana’s project creation profile, which is aimed at children. A polar bear with blue outlines looks interesting and fresh, arousing genuine interest among potential customers.