Nescafé Logo PNG
The Nescafé logo conceals a rich coffee aroma behind its symbols. Simply opening the lid attracts those seeking an invigorating drink. The emblem suggests hiding this treasure and savoring its taste away from prying eyes.
The story of Nescafé began after the Wall Street Crash of 1929, when collapsing commodity prices left Brazil with massive unsold coffee stocks. Beans lost so much value that they were burned as fuel. The Banque Française et Italienne pour l’Amérique du Sud approached Nestlé chairman Louis Dapples to develop a shelf-stable coffee product.
The project was assigned to chemist Max Morgenthaler. Early attempts failed, including compressed coffee tablets that lost aroma. After three years and reduced funding, Morgenthaler continued experiments independently. By 1937, he had developed a method that combined coffee extract with soluble carbohydrates and spray-dried them to preserve flavor in a powdered form.
On April 1, 1938, Nescafé launched in Switzerland, followed by the UK and the US within a year. By April 1940, it was sold in 30 countries, and Morgenthaler secured a patent on December 31, 1938.
During World War II, the US government classified Nescafé as a military supply. By 1942, most production served the army, with each soldier receiving instant coffee rations. Postwar CARE packages were distributed across Europe and Japan, accelerating global adoption.
In the early 1950s, Nestlé improved the formula by deriving carbohydrates directly from coffee beans. In 1953, Nescafé accompanied Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay on the Everest expedition, and in 1969, it was included aboard Apollo 11.
A major shift occurred in 1965 with the introduction of Nescafé Gold Blend, produced via freeze-drying. Competitors such as Maxwell House offered similar products, but Nescafé retained global reach.
In 2006, Nestlé introduced Nescafé Dolce Gusto, entering the capsule coffee segment alongside Nespresso. By the late 2000s, Nescafé was sold in over 180 countries.
Meaning and History
Over the decades, the brand has changed its logo six times, all remarkably similar. Even the font transformation went unnoticed: conservative designers never deviated from the original concept. Thus, updating the logo is essentially an evolution of the dash above the last letter “É.” From a normal superscript mark used to indicate sound, it transformed into a small cloud, symbolizing the aroma of coffee.
What is Nescafe?
This owns the world’s most popular instant coffee brand, which transformed coffee consumption by making it accessible to millions globally. Freshly roasted coffee beans, selected from different regions, are carefully processed to create distinctive flavor profiles. The range includes traditional granulated coffee, modern mixes with milk and sugar, the premium Gold line, and unique blends for vending machines. The Classic line is especially popular and is associated with instant coffee in many countries. In contrast, the innovative Dolce Gusto line offers capsule systems for preparing a range of coffee drinks at home.
1938 – 1953
The first logo version was in light brown tones: inside a coffee-shaped rectangle, the word “NESCAFÉ” was painted like baked milk. The inscription was in a standard sans-serif font. From the letter “N” to the right ran two long horizontal stripes – one above, the other below.
1953 – 1968
After a slight redesign in 1953, the palette changed. The background turned white, and the word “gray” did too, so the obvious coffee associations disappeared. The proportions changed, too: designers reduced the size of all letters except the first.
1968 – 1983
The new logo lacks underlining. The top stripe is shortened and continued by a large horizontal line above the letter “É.” The letters “S” and “C” have horizontal cuts along their edges, not vertical cuts as before. Black was used instead of gray to make the brand more noticeable.
1983 – 1998
Another redesign in 1983 brought minor changes to the logo: vertical cuts at the ends of the letters “S” and “C,” a sharpened line over the letter “É” in the shape of a triangle, the top line’s end coming off the letter “N” trimmed, and elegant serifs added to the letters. After the update, the font faintly resembled URW Majesty and URW Agenda Bold.
1998 – 2014
In 1998, the font was modernized again. The serifs were lengthened and slightly slanted, giving the logo a sense of dynamism. The most significant change was the stick above the letter “É”: the rectangular triangle turned into a smooth line, resembling the famous Nike swoosh.
Simultaneously, the brand acquired another emblem of equal stature. Designers made the word “NESCAFÉ” gray and complemented it with the corporate slogan “Open up.” The phrase was positioned diagonally in the lower-right corner, ascending. The letters were red, and the font mimicked handwriting.
For the 75th anniversary, a commemorative logo was created: a red square with rounded corners. Inside it was the white inscription “NESCAFÉ,” overlaid with large golden numbers “7” and “5” with the suffix “years.”
2014 – today
The 2014 logo was developed by three companies: Publicis Groupe and CBA from Paris, and OgilvyOne from New York. Designers sought to preserve Nescafé’s original style while presenting it in a renewed form. They reimagined what had become familiar:
- Replaced the old font with a grotesque one.
- Eliminated rectangular forms.
- Made the line over “É” red and elegantly curved.
Font and Colors
The Nescafé trademark is creatively used. It combines the words “Nestle” (the parent company’s name) and “cafe” (the range includes instant coffee in granule or powder form). Characteristic style elements include a long horizontal line extending from the top of the letter “N” and a small diacritical mark in the form of a cloud over the letter “É.”
The custom serif font is based on Neuropa. In this case, the two letters “E” resemble a mug handle, and the stick above “É” symbolizes steam rising from a hot drink. Since 1998, the color palette has included black, white, and red.