The money transfer service’s Venmo logo is simple yet symbolic. The emblem embodies the instantaneous movement of funds on users’ accounts and emphasizes the business nature of the brand. At the same time, the emblem looks friendly because the service must be trustworthy.
Venmo: Brand overview
Founded: | 2009 |
Founder: | Venmo, LLC |
Headquarters: | United States |
Website: | venmo.com |
Venmo is an American mobile money transfer service based on P2P peer-to-peer architecture. With it, account holders can instantly send and receive payments through an application on their smartphone. However, both the recipient and the sender must be in the United States. The service was launched in 2009 and aimed to support relatives, acquaintances, and friends who can use it to share funds to pay for tickets, rent, food, films, and more. Money is transferred instantly, and transactions are tracked in the social feed of the application. Andrew Kortina and Iqram Magdon-Ismail organize the service. Now it belongs to PayPal and is adapted for Android and iOS platforms.
Venmo was created by two friends who met while studying at the University of Pennsylvania when they were still freshmen. They thought about such a service when solving problems with opening a store. It was then that friends realized how difficult it is to use software for commercial enterprises. Once at a jazz show, they figured out how to instantly purchase an MP3 file with just one text message.
The idea got stuck when Iqram Magdon-Ismail forgot his wallet when traveling to a friend. Therefore, they soon began to implement the idea of transferring money using mobile phones. But instead of texting, they had to tackle applications. In 2010, the new company received $ 1.2 million in start-up capital from RRE Ventures. So it got started until it became part of Braintree in 2012, which bought it for $ 26.2 million. And in the winter of next year, the parent organization switched to PayPal, which paid $ 800 million for it.
In 2020, PayPal allowed several cryptocurrencies to be purchased and used through Venmo, including Bitcoin, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Ethereum. This decision came into force in the first half of 2021. The only limitation is that only select users have access to this function. The rest of the base will be massively connected by developers in the spring and summer. For security, PIN codes will be used as before.
Meaning and History
For its own identity, the payment service has chosen an inconspicuous and strict sign of personal identity, consisting of text. This was done for promotional and informational purposes to be better remembered for the new organization’s name.
In addition, this is a convenient form of marketing – the transfer of information during communication because the visual component is closely related to the text. In this way, it is easier for users to find out about the existence of this service and expand its coverage area. Therefore, the owners rely on the word mark, either painting it in different colors or adding catchiness due to one bright tint.
2009 – 2010
The word logo consists of a single inscription – “Venmo.” It is typed primarily in lowercase, except for the first letter, which is in uppercase. At the same time, the symbols are multi-colored: red, yellow, green, blue, and blue. Each of them has a thin black border. ‘V,’ ‘e,’ and ‘n’ are outlined together, and the rest of the glyphs are outlined separately. The designers added another personal touch to the emblem: they turned the “e” sideways, so it is located diagonally and slightly overlaps the neighboring “n.”
2010 – today
This logo does not have such colorfulness as before: it is monochromatic. But at the same time, the emblem remained bright as the designers opted for a rich shade of blue. This color well emphasizes the service’s business nature and digital focus because many popular Internet platforms, services, and communities prefer it. The font has also been changed. If earlier it was a mixture of two registers (upper and lower), then here, all the letters are lowercase. There is more free space between them because the glyphs are farther apart than before. Among the same type of characters, “v” stands out: it has original typography with the right side curved outwards.
Venmo: Interesting Facts
Venmo has changed how people in the U.S. send money to each other. It’s part of PayPal and mixes digital payments with some social media flair.
- Start-Up Story: Andrew Kortina and Iqram Magdon-Ismail launched Venmo in 2009 after they got tired of the hassle of splitting bills. They created a mobile app to make sending money to friends easy.
- Joining PayPal: In 2013, Braintree bought Venmo for $26.2 million, and then PayPal bought Braintree. This helped Venmo grow and connect with more online payment options.
- Social and Fun: Venmo is a payment app. You can add friends, share what you’re paying for, and use emojis in your transactions, making paying people back more fun.
- Growing Fast: Most millennials and Gen Z use Venmo because it’s easy to split rent bills or pay each other back.
- For Businesses Too: Venmo now lets businesses get payments through the app, helping them reach young customers and giving Venmo a new way to make money.
- Venmo Card: A Venmo debit card lets you use your Venmo money at stores or get cash from ATMs, blending digital and real-world spending.
- Safe to Use: Venmo works hard to keep your money safe with PINs, fingerprint or face recognition, and encrypted information. But it’s best to only Venmo people you know.
- Cultural Icon: Venmo is everywhere—TV, movies, songs, and everyday talk, like “I’ll Venmo you.” This shows how big a part of life Venmo has become.
- Helping Causes: People use Venmo for fundraising and donations, and its social feed encourages others to contribute to good causes.
Venmo stands out for making money transfers social and easy, and it’s only getting more integrated into PayPal’s world, promising more innovations ahead.
Font and Colors
A square occupies the upper part with rounded corners. It is colored light blue and is located in the middle. Inside is a white “V” made up of wide lines. Its left side is flat, the right side is curved, with a slight rounding at the top. Because of this protrusion, her legs do not coincide slightly in height. The lower part of the letter is not pointed, as usual, but is cut off, which gives it a stable platform. She personifies the strength and reliability of the payment system.
The full name of the service is located under the icon. It is executed in wide-format lowercase characters. The letters are located optimally relative to each other (not close or wide); therefore, they read very well. The name “Venmo” has a slight slope to the right, except the “V,” which matches the graphic symbol exactly.
The logo uses a typeface Helvetica Neue with minimal adjustments as the designers turn the “V” into an icon. It’s a sleek bold sans serif typeface.
The basic logo palette is a combination of blue and white. In the upper part, blue is the background for the white letter, and in the lower part, on the contrary, the blue inscription is located on a white background.
Venmo color codes
Celestial Blue | Hex color: | #008cff |
---|---|---|
RGB: | 0 140 255 | |
CMYK: | 77 40 0 0 | |
Pantone: | PMS 2727 C |