SF Studios Logo PNG
The SF Studios logo shows that the company makes both classic films and films in unusual genres. However, she remains loyal to her views and beliefs. The emblem reads the harmony and completeness of the resulting film masterpieces.
SF Studios was founded on December 27, 1919, through the merger of AB Svenska Biografteatern and Filmindustri AB Skandia. The new company was formally registered in February 1920 as Aktiebolaget Svensk Filmindustri. Its early films helped define the golden age of Swedish cinema, including The Phantom Carriage (1921), Häxan (1922), and The Saga of Gösta Berling (1924).
Directors Mauritz Stiller and Victor Sjöström gave the studio international visibility. Stiller also introduced Greta Garbo through The Saga of Gösta Berling before her move to Hollywood. Later competition from American and German cinema, along with the shift to sound, pushed Svensk Filmindustri toward the domestic market and educational films.
In 1942, Carl-Anders Dymling became company president, and Ingmar Bergman joined the studio. Torment, released in 1944 and based on Bergman’s screenplay, drew renewed attention to Swedish film. In the 1950s and 1960s, the studio backed major Bergman works, including The Seventh Seal, Wild Strawberries, The Silence, and Persona. It also entered television with projects such as Pippi Longstocking, based on Astrid Lindgren’s books.
Ownership changed several times after 1970, passing through Hufvudstaden AB, Dagens Nyheter, and Bonnier. Key later titles included Jan Troell’s The Emigrants (1971) and Lasse Hallström’s My Life as a Dog (1985). In 1998, the company split into AB Svensk Filmindustri and the SF Bio cinema chain. SF Anytime launched in 2002, and SF Bio later became part of Nordic Cinema Group before its sale to AMC Theatres in 2017. In 2016, Svensk Filmindustri was renamed SF Studios, reflecting its broader Nordic presence in Norway, Denmark, and Finland.
Meaning and History
SF Studios is involved in the creation and promotion of films. She directed the Oscar-winning film A Man Called Ove (2015) and has worked with many Scandinavian directors, whose work has received universal acclaim. She also owns most of the screen adaptations of the works of the children’s writer Astrid Anna Emilia Lindgren. The studio currently works with foreign companies, including Sony Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and Warner Bros., and has co-produced films with them.
The famous SF intro tune appeared in 1943. It was used for weekly news coverage, shown in theaters before the premiere. The music was written by the then-popular Swedish composer Jules Sylvain. It only took him a few minutes. And after the arrangements, the sound became familiar to the modern audience.
The history of logo creation is also very old. It is believed to have been developed by Nils Hårde, the head of marketing. Before joining SF Studios, he graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts, was a periodical artist, and drew posters that have become internationally recognized classics. Nils Hårde’s signature appears next to the 1924 film Gösta Berlings Saga poster. According to another, less believable legend, an unknown woman is the author of the logo.
The design of a graphic symbol has changed very often, to the point that not all of its versions have survived to the present day, and not all are taken into account. For example, many now forget that in the 1960s, the monogram “SF” was moved from the familiar circle to a square base. But then the developers decided to return to the original round shape. Ultimately, she became the main one.
1921 – 1964
In 1919, AB Svensk Filmindustri was founded. To stand out in the emerging film industry, it needed a recognizable logo. The idea’s author is Nils Hårde, the creator of the popular posters of the time. He used the first letters of the film studio’s name and combined them into a single image on a black background. The initial design was very simple. He appeared in a promotional poster for the 1921 film Johan.
Archival evidence suggests that the elegant circle monogram was not developed until the late 1930s. It remained in black and white, just like the original. The “F” occupied the lower right corner of the circle, and the diagonally inverted “S” was adjacent to it from above. Both letters had long, rounded serifs.
1964 – 1986
After minor changes, the base turned coffee-colored, and the monogram became dark beige. Moreover, the logo now has the same dark beige frame, consisting of two rings of different widths. The designers reduced the letters slightly so they would not touch the borders and made the lines slightly thinner.
1986 – 2016
As a result of further experiments, the color scheme was transformed again. The round base was completely white. The fact is that she created a neutral background for the other elements, which were painted in a dark crimson. It is a traditional monogram and double bezel.
2016 – today
In 2016, the company was renamed SF Studios. In honor of this event, she received a redesigned logo. Modern designers have solved the problem of free space by stretching letters across the entire width of the circle. Now “S” and “F” go to the borders, merging with them into one whole. So the outer border looks almost like a full-fledged part of the monogram. Since the letters have been reshaped, the serifs have become subtle. Only a tiny protruding stripe in the upper left corner of “F” is visible, separating it from “S.”
The frame does not consist of two rings but one in the new version. The background color remained white. As for the main elements, a dark red shade was chosen. The inscription “STUDIOS” appeared at the bottom; that is, the letter “SF” can be interpreted not only as a decorative pattern but also as a full-fledged part of the company name.
Font and Colors
From time immemorial, the graphic symbol of a film studio consisted of a monogram inside a circle. Moreover, it was previously used mainly in news reviews (SF Journal) and the media. He could not be seen in the films very often, except in the end credits. Designs have changed over the century, with variations in different color schemes.
The font of the inscription “STUDIOS” is a typical geometric sans-serif of a round shape. All letters are bold and capitalized. The elements are dark red, almost burgundy, and the base is completely white.