SAP Logo, symbol, meaning, history, PNG, brand

SAP Logo PNG

The SAP logo demonstrates progressive thinking and the development of machine intelligence. Software development from scratch, a new approach to accounting, and database management characterize the company and are reflected in the emblem.

SAP: Brand overview

Founded:	1972
Founder:	Dietmar Hopp, Hans-Werner Hector, Hasso Plattner, Klaus Tschira, Claus Wellenreuther
Headquarters:	Walldorf, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Website:	sap.com

Until the end of the 1990s, few people knew what SAP was doing. Her efforts were not focused on marketing, and the sellers communicated in their incomprehensible jargon – “SAPanese.” The fact is that this organization was founded in 1972 by several engineers who were developing artificial intelligence technology. They left IBM when the project they had been assigned became unclaimed. Having taken their experience, colleagues opened a separate company and began creating software for financial accounting systems. SAP is associated with the German term Systemanalyse und Programmentwicklung and its English counterpart, System Analysis and Program Development. The brand’s owners had no idea they would someday have to do business in South Africa, where SAP stands for South African Police.

Meaning and History

The software company has grown remarkably over the past half-century. Her identity has evolved with her – visual symbols that help identify SAP in the service market. The first trademark logo was as striped as the IBM graphic because, at that time, horizontal lines were associated with computers. The design was developed by Peter Leyh, one of the five founding engineers of SAP. Colleagues gathered in Juergen Hachenberger’s kitchen to watch the traditional Friday football match. And then Leyh, sitting at the kitchen table, drew the debut logo: a black square with a white brand name.

Later, a triangle was added to the quadrilateral, making the geometric figure look like a rectangular trapezoid. After numerous experiments with colors (within the blue palette) and textures (a solid fill replaced the stripes), the current version of the logo appeared. In the course of evolution, the square and the triangle merged because, in 2000, the dividing line between them disappeared. A year earlier, the horizontal stroke of the letter “A” became arcuate. This is how the “brand smile” of SAP appeared.

2000 – 2011

The software developer has moved into the new millennium with an improved logo. It was a clear and understandable “SAP” lettering inside a dark blue trapezoid. White letters took up almost all the space, but there was not enough space for them, so there were no spaces between “S,” “A,” and “P.” The designers made it so that “A” smiled affably, demonstrating the company’s friendly attitude towards customers.

2011 – today

2011, the base was changed to light blue with a trendy gradient. In 2014, SAP executives attempted to eliminate the trapezoid and make the inscription orange, but the experiment failed. The public did not accept the radically new image, so the company was forced to return to the 2011 design, which continues to be used today.

SAP: Interesting Facts

SAP SE is a big company in Europe that makes software for businesses. This software is important because it helps businesses run better.

How It Started: In 1972, five people who used to work at IBM started SAP in Mannheim, Germany. They wanted to make software that could process data in real time.
First Product: SAP’s first big product was a financial accounting system called R/1. It was special because it processed data right when entered, making businesses work faster.
Product Evolution: SAP made new versions of its products over time, ending up with R/3 in 1992. R/3 worked on different computer systems and helped even more businesses.
SAP S/4HANA: In 2015, SAP released S/4HANA. It’s a super-fast system for managing business resources using a new SAP HANA technology.
Global Presence: SAP works in over 180 countries and has over 440,000 customers worldwide.
SAP HANA: Launched in 2010, SAP HANA is a database that works quickly and can do real-time analytics. This is a big reason why SAP has grown so much.
Caring for the Environment: SAP tries to improve the world by focusing on sustainability and responsibility.
Growing Through Buying Other Companies: SAP has bought companies like SuccessFactors, Ariba, and Qualtrics to offer more services and strengthen its market position.
Community Network: SAP has a community network where users, developers, and partners can share knowledge and collaborate on SAP projects.
Moving to the Cloud: SAP is adding more cloud services to make its customers’ lives more flexible and efficient.

SAP has played a big role in changing how businesses manage their work, focusing on new technology, protecting the environment, and helping businesses everywhere improve.

Font and Colors

SAP’s experience proves that brand recognition is impossible without a conservative approach to identity. Almost all software vendor icons share a common structure. The only time the designers changed the traditional shape of the emblem and repainted the inscription in orange was met with dissatisfaction from shareholders, customers, and employees of SAP. Therefore, returning to the old style was the only right decision.

The logo’s typography is based on the classic bold sans-serif, but the developers have given it a “flavor” by modifying some of the strokes. They arched the straight horizontal line in the middle of the “A” to make the arc resemble a smile and smoother the “S.”

Although the lettering is almost always white, SAP’s favorite color is blue. The trapezoid in the latest logos is dark or light blue with a currently used gradient.