The Stranger Things logo resembles a rock band cover. It appears mystical due to the font and colors chosen as the foundation. This is no coincidence, as the genre of the series is science fiction, horror, and thriller. Additionally, the name of the project suggests the use of a corresponding “mysterious” logo.
Stranger Things: Brand overview
The Stranger Things logo is the official trademark of the globally popular sci-fi series, translated as “Very Strange Things” (another name is “Mysterious Events”).
Meaning and History
The first season of the series was launched in 2016 by the streaming service Netflix. The scriptwriters were the Duffer Brothers, Matt and Ross. The plot is based on the life of a provincial town in the 1980s.
The peaceful, measured life of the residents was disrupted by the mysterious disappearance of a 12-year-old boy, after which various mystical events began in the town. The local sheriff, investigating the boy’s disappearance, accidentally uncovers one strange secret. We won’t continue recounting the plot – the series can be watched online, and four seasons of the TV series have already been released. But the story of its logo is very interesting.
What is Stranger Things?
Stranger Things is a sci-fi series and horror show created by the Brothers and produced by Netflix; the premiere of the first season took place in 2016. The second, third, and fourth seasons were released in 2017, 2019, and 2022 respectively. Work on the final (fifth) season began in 2022.
2016
The logo of the first season of the sci-fi series is based on a text phrase. Graphics are excluded, as the focus is only on the title, emphasizing the strangeness of the events. To convey the atmosphere of ghostliness, horror, and the style of the 1980s, the creators chose the ITC Benguiat font. The words are arranged in two tiers: the upper – “Stranger” and the lower – “Things.” The first part of the phrase is highlighted with a double line. The letters themselves are contour: hollow inside and solid outside, edged by a solid line. The letters “S” and “R” are significantly larger than the other characters.
2017
The second season was first marked with the corresponding number “2”. It was done fully colored and placed behind the “semi-transparent” name of the series. The atmosphere of mysticism is supported by red mist, enveloping the phrase “Stranger Things.”
2019
With the release of the third season, a new logo appeared. To emphasize the sinister plot, designers recolored the words in black, leaving a red frame. The number 3 is a gradient: raspberry with dark edges. The style of writing remained the same: ITC Benguiat font with serifs and capital letters, emphasizing the first and last letters in the word “Stranger.” Moreover, this year, the lines on the logo became solid.
2022
The fourth season did not bring radical changes, but now the figure came to the forefront, with the series’ name serving as its background. The mysticism of the events is emphasized by gray letters with a thin red border.
Stranger Things: Interesting Facts
“Stranger Things” is a show on Netflix that started in 2016. It’s about scary and weird stuff, with many cool things from the 1980s.
- 1980s Stuff: The show loves everything from the 1980s. It reminds people of movies and stories by famous people like Steven Spielberg and Stephen King. That’s one reason why so many people like it.
- The Name: It was first going to be called “Montauk” after a place in New York, but then they decided to make up a town called Hawkins, Indiana, and called the show “Stranger Things.”
- Winona Ryder: She plays Joyce Byers. She was famous in the 1980s, so having her in the show makes it feel more like the 1980s.
- The Upside Down: This is a scary place in the show that’s different from our world. It’s full of monsters and is a big part of the story.
- Theme Song: Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein make the music you hear at the show’s start. It sounds a lot like music from the 1980s and helps set the mood.
- Millie Bobby Brown: She plays a girl named Eleven, who has special powers. She’s good in the show and even shaved her head for the role.
- Real Weird Stuff: The show has stories about mind control and secret experiments, like some real things people have thought the government did.
- Movies from the 1980s: “Stranger Things” has many little nods to movies from the 1980s, like “E.T.” and “The Goonies.” People love finding these.
- Fashion and Games: The show has made things from the 1980s popular again, like the game Dungeons & Dragons and certain styles of clothes.
- Cool Things to Buy: Because so many people like the show, there’s a lot of “Stranger Things” stuff you can buy, and there have been special events and pop-up bars themed around it.
“Stranger Things” is more than just a show. It brings back the 1980s in a fun way and tells a story that both kids and adults can get into.
Font and Colors
The logo was created by the series’ creators, the Duffer brothers, and the creative design company Imaginary Forces, led by art director Jacob Boghosian.
As the plot of the film takes place in the 80s, Boghosian began studying the pop culture of those years, as well as the work of iconic writers and directors of the time – Stephen King, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, John Carpenter. He collected a collection of posters for their films and covers of music albums, books, and advertising brochures, and came up with 20 variants of the series’ title.
After long discussions, the producers settled on ITC Benguiat – a font with precise contours. It was used on posters and on the series’ opening and title clips.
The ITC Benguiat font was created in 1977 by typographer Ed Benguiat based on modern handwriting style – a very decorative, beautiful, readable, original serif font. That same year, it was patented and named after the inventor, although he was against it.
According to Netflix representative Michelle Dougherty, this font, like no other, conveys the atmosphere of that time, combining the design of Stephen King’s works, the adaptation of “Aliens,” and the popular culture of the 1980s.
Adjustments to the ITC Benguiat font consisted of changing the initial letters “S” and “T,” which are now refined but have an extension to the left, and the shape of the serifs was also changed. Some other letters also received minor changes. Designers developed the layout design: a bar above the upper word and on the sides, on the free spaces under it.
Some experts considered the design of the words in the title a bit elongated and that it would be better to make the words more compact, but the owners of Netflix considered it very successful, and the question was closed.
The color palette changed for each season. Initially, they were red letters on a white background, then they turned black. In the last season, the letters were removed, leaving only the contour, making the inscription resemble neon signs of stores and hotels of the 80s.
The Stranger Things logo is one of the bright examples of successful teamwork in design, where the ideas of many people give an impeccable result, to which nothing needs to be added or removed – everything is in its place.
Stranger Things color codes
Rosy Brown | Hex color: | #ad8585 |
---|---|---|
RGB: | 173 133 133 | |
CMYK: | 0 23 23 32 | |
Pantone: | PMS 5005 C |
Rosso Corsa | Hex color: | #d30000 |
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RGB: | 211 0 0 | |
CMYK: | 0 100 100 17 | |
Pantone: | PMS Bright Red C |