Polar Logo PNG
The Polar logo resembles a pulsing point moving along a snowy trail. The emblem reflects an athlete’s heartbeat in extreme conditions. The sign introduces customers to the brand’s core concept.
Polar began in 1977 on a Finnish ski trail, where a cross-country coach told researcher Seppo Säynäjäkangas that lab-based pulse checks revealed too little about real training. Athletes needed heart-rate data during movement, in the cold, and during full sessions. That year, Polar Electro Oy was founded in Kempele, Finland, filed its first patent application for fingertip pulse measurement, and built an early prototype with the University of Oulu. In 1978, it released its first commercial product, the Tunturi Pulser.
In 1982, Polar introduced the Sport Tester PE 2000, the world’s first wearable wireless heart-rate monitor. It used a chest transmitter with a simplified ECG sensor and a wrist receiver that showed the pulse in real time. Before that, athletes usually had to stop training and count beats by hand on the neck or wrist, a rough method with poor accuracy.
The PE2000 quickly moved from the lab to training. In 1983, Finnish orienteer Kari Sallinen began training with it, and his coach, Jukka Kalliokoski, linked his progress to heart rate monitoring. In 1985, after switching to the PE3000, Sallinen won gold at the World Orienteering Championships. In 1996, Polar launched the Xtrainer Plus, the first cycling computer to measure speed, cadence, and heart rate together. In 1997, the Power SmartEdge added OwnZone, which set a personal heart-rate range for each workout.
By the late 1990s and 2000s, Polar led the sports heart-rate monitor market. At the same time, Garmin and Suunto grew as serious rivals in GPS and multisport watches. Polar released its first GPS watch in 2012, after Garmin made a deeper move into GPS and the Fenix line. The company remains based in Kempele, stays private, and is led by founder Seppo Säynäjäkangas’s daughter, Sari Säynäjäkangas. Seppo died in 2018.
Meaning and History
The company has kept its visual identity consistent and has not updated it in the last 50 years. This consistency extends to the product the company focuses on. The sign’s main message is embedded in additional character transformations. Modifications make the wordmark memorable and create strong associations with winter, cold, and the hot breath of sports.
What is Polar?
A sports electronics manufacturer headquartered in Kempele, with 26 subsidiaries worldwide. The main products are heart rate monitors, sports watches, cardio sensors, running speed detectors, bike computers, and accessories.
1977 – today
The company’s logo consists of the brand name intersected by a white line. The brand name was not chosen randomly. It represents the Arctic Circle, which passes through Finland, the company’s country of origin.
The white line directly on the word represents this cold, snowy boundary. The stripe partially cuts through the letters, just as the northern meridian places part of the country beyond the Arctic Circle. The stroke personifies movement: running and skiing, for which the heart rate monitor was originally designed.
The letter O is designed as a red circle, symbolizing:
- The sun of the polar region. In this area, it often does not set below the horizon and shines 24 hours a day. At that time, the sun and the surrounding sky appear red.
- Pulse. The brand’s first product: the Sport Tester PE2000 heart rate monitor.
- The shape of the main products. Most indicators are measured using sensors built into round-screen watches.
The emphasis on the letter O relates to the company’s full name, Oy Polar Electro. The entire inscription, like a watch strap with a display, connects the emblem to products consumers recognize.
Font and Colors
The emblem uses contrasting colors and carries multiple associations.
- Red – blood, heart, pulse, warmth from movement, sports exercises.
- White – snow, cold, extreme conditions, health, medical supervision.
- Black – reliability, confidence, constancy.
The red-and-white combination contrasts cold weather with a skier or runner in motion. The idea of developing pulse meters came to Seppo Säynäjäkangas while skiing.
The contrast between black and red pits movement and energy against the mechanism’s precise performance. It suggests activities that require precise control of all indicators.
The inscription’s font is distinctive because a white line cuts through and alters the characters. The resulting open glyphs suggest development and athletic achievement.