Van Halen Logo

Van Halen Logo PNG

The band’s initials fly up on the emblem like an eagle made from the guitar strings of a rock musician. As the Van Halen logo shows, heavy music is a sharp blade. It hits the target and strikes the hearts of the listeners with its unusualness and clear rhythms.

Meaning and History

In 1972, two talented Van Halen brothers (guitarist, songwriter Eddie, and drummer Alex) formed their band. They also brought in energetic lead singer David Lee Roth and bassist-vocalist Michael Anthony. The four of them launched a project called Genesis, but, as it turned out, such a team already existed. Therefore, the musicians first renamed themselves Mammoth and then Van Halen.

After the album of the same name in 1978, it immediately climbed to number 19 on the Billboard charts and sold over 10 million copies in the United States. In 1982, the rockers already had four music collections, which eventually became multi-platinum. All subsequent albums enjoyed no less success, which gained immense popularity among listeners all over the world. And the single lead Jump is recognized as number one in the United States. Gradually, their emblem acquired more and more recognition and fame.

1972 – 1974

At first, the group was called Mammoth. This word was used as a debut sign of her identity. The font was in uppercase. The letters were voluminous but uneven – along the contour of each of them, there was a “trembling” strip, which gave the logo dynamics. The realism was also added by cracks, chips, and other damage generously painted on all the symbols.

1974 – 1978

After the rebranding, the musicians adopted a new logo. This is the Van Halen wordmark, as suggested by vocalist David Lee Roth. He had a presentiment that such a name would bring marketing, personal and creative advantages. Mark Stone, the bassist, painted the original logo. The sans serif font is complemented by elongated “v” and “a.” The first has the left side stretched upwards, the second – the right side goes down.

Moreover, they look like notes. Symbols “h” and “l” look like perfectly even stripes, and “e” is made in a different configuration, not usual for this letter; therefore, it is read worse than others. In addition, the “a” resembles a pyramidal sign. The sleek and elegant logo only changed after six years.

1978

Dave Bhang designed the new logo. It is the most iconic symbol of the rock band Van Halen because the name is encrypted in it. It was used for the debut album. To the right and left of the stylized “V” and “H” are two wings, consisting of six stripes of different lengths and widths. The first letter in the monogram is aligned, the second is at an angle, so it looks diagonal. Above them, in a blue trapezoid, is the name of the band. The shadows gave the inscription a 3D effect. This version of the logo served as the basis for all subsequent ones.

1979 – 1986

The three-dimensional emblem contains the same elements as the previous version. The exception is the trapezoidal plate, which the authors removed, and a smaller number of horizontal lines (there are now three of them). The stylized “V” and “H” are now clearly visible. They consist of a combination of strips of the same width but different lengths. Moreover, they do not have shadows – their place was taken by white lines that turn the logo into a three-dimensional sign. This effect is created by slightly offsetting the stripes below the letter level. This version of the winged symbol graced the cover of Van Halen II’s 1979 album.

1986 – 1998

When Sammy Hagar became the new vocalist of the rock band, a different logo appeared. It, too, was based on the iconic winged prototype created by Dave Bhang. The authors lengthened the horizontal stripes, forming a circle out of them, resembling a huge ring. The ends of all lines are pointed. The ribs are formed by small hand-drawn serif strokes. The color is changed to dark golden. This mark was used on the album 5150, released in 1986.

2012 – 2020

The cover art for 2012’s A Different Kind of Truth featured an old logo relevant from 1979 to 1986.

Font and Colors of the Emblem

The musical group Van Halen had several emblems, but the monogram “VH” is considered a cult one. It is played in several modifications and reflects the creative atmosphere of the legendary band.

All emblems use an individual typeface. The author of the first-word mark (with letters-notes) is David Lee Roth, the second (with winged elements) is Dave Bhang. The color palette is monosyllabic: it contains only black and white. The exception is the 1986 logo, which has a dark golden hue.

Van Halen color codes