Xing Logo PNG
The Xing logo depicts business partners meeting in an informal setting to communicate and build a closer acquaintance. Here, everyone can show themselves and see the community’s reaction to their style and image. The emblem demonstrates the association of business people for easy communication.
XING began in August 2003 in Hamburg, when Lars Hinrichs launched Open Business Club GmbH. The platform openBC went live on November 1, 2003, aiming to replicate offline networking online. From the start, the model combined free access with paid features such as advanced search and messaging. By early 2005, the network had reached over 500,000 users, making it Europe’s largest professional platform. That year, Wellington Partners invested €5.7 million.
Competition with LinkedIn shaped its strategy. In November 2006, openBC was rebranded as XING to support international growth. By mid-2006, the user base exceeded 1.5 million. On December 7, 2006, XING went public on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, raising €35.7 million with a valuation of around €157–168 million. It became one of the first Web 2.0 companies to IPO.
Expansion followed. In 2007, a pay-per-click job section launched, alongside the acquisitions of EConozco and Neurona. In 2008, Cember.net was added. Growth outside German-speaking markets remained limited. In 2009, Hinrichs stepped down as CEO and was replaced by Stefan Gross-Selbeck. Hubert Burda Media acquired a 25.1% stake in 2012 and later a controlling stake. The company shifted focus to the DACH region.
In 2013, XING acquired Kununu, integrating employer reviews into its platform. Further deals included InterNations and Prescreen in 2017, and Honeypot in 2019. In 2019, Xing SE was renamed New Work SE, uniting its services under a single brand. By April 2019, the platform had 16 million users, while LinkedIn, acquired by Microsoft in 2016, had exceeded 600 million users.
Meaning and History
The Xing brand was officially launched in 2007, but the social network itself has existed since 2003. In its early years, it was known as OpenBC. The full version without an abbreviation (Open Business Club) revealed the essence of the platform. Then it was renamed Xing, making the name more abstract.
German entrepreneur Lars Hinrichs is the creator of an international online network for managing professional contacts. The portal is now managed by the Hamburg-based company New Work SE, and since 2012, Hubert Burda Media has been controlling the shareholding. So Xing is one of the global media company brands, along with Digital Life Design, HolidayCheck Group, InStyle, and Cyberport.
What is Xing?
Xing is a German social network created in 2003 for business people. It helps establish professional connections, communicate on business topics, view current job vacancies, post resumes, and engage in recruiting. It is an excellent place for exchanging experiences, knowledge, and career advancement. New Work SE owns the online service.
Despite numerous structural changes, the site continues to operate in the same format as before. Users are offered free basic services and special features for premium subscribers. For example, those who wish can purchase the ability to send messages with attachments, display statistical reports, and conduct advanced searches.
Xing’s logo has changed at least once because the network was previously called the Open Business Club. The first version contained a gray “openBC” lettering, with lowercase letters thin and straight and uppercase letters bold and italic. After the renaming, the platform adopted a new wordmark: “XING.” The name is now blue-green and written in uppercase.
In addition to the full XING logo, the portal features a short emblem with a stylized X. The icon consists of two curved lines that meet at their corners. The left stripe is shorter than the right one. Also, they differ in color: if one side is blue-green, the other is neon yellow. Geometric shapes are not connected, so they cannot be called full-fledged letters. Rather, it is a vivid abstraction, vaguely reminiscent of “X.” The official manual states that the icon must necessarily have square proportions. It is usually placed in a white square with rounded corners.
Font and Colors
The logo’s creators designed the inscription and did not use standard fonts. Perhaps they took a variety of grotesque forms as their primary principle, giving it a new form. The corners of the letters are rounded, the lines are symmetrical, and the strokes’ width is consistent.
The inscription is blue-green (#026466) on a white background. The icon is more colorful: in addition to blue-green, it includes neon-yellow (#CFDC00). Both shades represent the Xing brand within the business line’s social media segment.