Scooby Doo Logo PNG
The comical and cartoony Scooby Doo logo is fully consistent with the atmosphere of the animated series. It looks like the designers first intended to make it scary, then changed their minds. On this principle, the entire plot of the animated series is built.
The animated series Scooby-Doo has influenced pop culture, spawning a popular media franchise. Its plot follows the adventures of four friends and their cowardly dog, who together form Mystery Incorporated to investigate mysterious events. It debuted in 1969 and was translated into 15 languages over the following decades. The number of episodes grew continuously, so that from 2014 to 2015, this animated project was in the Guinness World Records, even beating The Simpsons. But he did not have a permanent identity: the logo changed in each new season of the animated series Scooby Doo.
Oddly enough, the appearance of the American series about four adventurers and their dogs is directly related to the assassination attempt on Robert F. Kennedy in 1968. Because of this tragic incident, the US government has tightened the requirements for violence in cartoons. So the authorities decided to pay tribute to the deceased politician who advocated censorship of children’s television content. At the time, the animated series was quite dark, with scenes of murder and terror. And all because the younger audience liked horror much more than other genres.
The Hanna-Barbera film studio decided to act strategically. She launched a comedy project in which the characters do not risk their lives to save the world from monsters because all the monsters there are just people in disguise. In the story, four friends and an anthropomorphic dog create Mystery Incorporated to fight monsters. Interestingly, the characters of The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis served as prototypes for teenagers.
Meaning and History
Each episode of the animated series features a monster. The main characters are called to catch him, but during the investigation, they discover that an ordinary person is hiding behind the mask of a monster. At the same time, cowardly members of the team make the situation comedic. One of them is a dog named Scooby-Doo, who often says his signature phrase, “Scooby-Dooby-Doo!” By the way, “Do be do be do” is a line from the Frank Sinatra song “Strangers in the Night.” She inspired the name of the anthropomorphic character and the title of the series.
The Scooby-Doo logo changed each season, but all variants were designed in much the same way. We are talking about bright colors and uneven letters, characteristic of the “childish” style. And in the latest version, next to the inscription, one of the animated series’ main characters appeared: a Great Dane.
What is Scooby Doo?
Scooby Doo is a media franchise that combines cartoons, video games, comics, feature films, and theatrical performances. All of them were created based on the animated series about a cowardly dog and four teenagers solving mysteries. The first episode of the original project was released in September 1969. It was broadcast on CBS TV.
1969 – 1972
On the morning of September 13, 1969, television viewers first saw Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? on CBS. Ken Spears and Joe Ruby worked on the series, suggesting they may have been involved in creating the cartoon logo. It was a light gray inscription, “SCOOBY-DOO,” against the backdrop of a mystical house. The designers made both words translucent so that the building’s elements could be seen through them. Because of its translucent texture, it was associated with ghosts. The letters were trembling, uneven, as if they had no clear form, hung in the air, and swayed in the wind. The original logo was used in the second season, which debuted in 1970.
1972 – 1976
In 1972, the series’ developers slightly changed the concept. They renamed the children’s TV show The New Scooby-Doo Movies, extended each episode to 60 minutes, and added exclusive celebrity guest stars. At the same time, a wordmark was created with a light green inscription inside a blue rectangle. In this version, as in the previous one, the letters were uneven, but they became compact and uniform in shape. They also have darker contours. The glyphs piled on top of each other as if they didn’t have enough space. Between the words “SCOOBY” and “DOO,” there was a hyphen, which was not there before. This logo graced the opening credits until 1976, when the animated series moved to ABC.
1976 – 1979
When the ABC television network bought the rights to broadcast Scooby Doo, the show’s format was again changed, and these changes happened gradually; something new in the concept appeared every year. In the 1976-1977 season, the logo was introduced, featuring the series’ white name on a lilac gradient background. There are gaps between the letters. The “S” and “D” were enlarged, although the entire lettering was in uppercase. The shape of the glyphs remained uneven: they looked like children had drawn them. An individual dark purple line encircled each letter. This emblem remained relevant for three seasons until the end of Scooby’s All-Stars programming block.
1979 – 1985
In 1979, a new character was added to the series, the Scrappy-Doo puppy. The episodes currently airing use the yellow wordmark in the credits. The inscription “Scooby-Doo” was divided into two lines: at the top was the part with a hyphen, and at the bottom was the second half of the name. Moreover, the designers did not align but deliberately twisted them, placing them at an angle. Visual ordering was created only because all the letters were close and interconnected. And because of the uneven thickness of the black outlines, the text seemed voluminous.
1985 – 1988
An updated logo for the animated series debuted in 1985, with The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo. The designers again made the lettering one-line and green, as in 1972. But now they have chosen a darker shade of green and, at the same time, repainted the background in red. The letters became trembling and uneven, intended to create an atmosphere of mystical horror.
1988 – 1991
From 1988 to 1991, ABC aired a series called A Pup Named Scooby-Doo. In its logo, the main character’s name was orange and in bold, with the first “S” and “D” uppercase and the rest lowercase. The glyphs still varied in size, but their edges were smoother. The inscription has thin white outlines and black shadows. Intra-letter gaps were also black.
1997 – today
After 1997, the animated series began using a two-part logo: a wordmark and an image of an anthropomorphic dog. The franchise name now consists of purple letters with orange outlines. They appear three-dimensional due to the gradient and highlights. A dog named Scooby-Doo peeks out over the sign with its paws on “BY” and “DOO.” He is the same as in the cartoon: a happy Great Dane with a green collar.
Font and Colors
If earlier designers tried to catch up with horror, depicting each letter in the style of Halloween horrors, then the modern inscription has a childish design. Nothing is frightening in it, especially when a good-natured dog is drawn next to it.
The custom glyph set used in the Scooby Doo logo is unparalleled. All letters differ in shape and size. The only thing that unites them is the bold style and lack of serifs. Since the animated series is designed for a children’s audience, the designers designed the inscription in bright colors, using rich shades of purple and orange. The character has traditional colors: brown fur, a black nose, a pink tongue, black-and-white eyes, and a green collar.