PayPal is an American electronic payment system that works with 25 national currencies. It was created in 1998 by a group of students, which included Peter Andreas Thiel, Max Levchin, Elon Reeve Musk, Luke Nosek. It appeared after the merger of online banking and software company X.COM Confinity Inc. In 2002, it became part of the largest eBay corporation, but in 2015 it again broke away from it.
Stock symbol traded as NASDAQ: PYPL.
Meaning and history
The PayPal logo is a constant. For 20 years, it was updated only three times, keeping the same style. Such conservatism is associated with the problem of brand continuity. The developers were unable to drastically change the appearance of the icon that people look for every day on web pages or in the app list. They were limited by a high level of consumer confidence in the existing image of the payment system.
1999 – 2007
The original version of the logo contains a simple inscription “PayPal”. White letters are indented and delimited only by wide blue outlines. The font is bold, italic, sans-serif.
2007 – 2014
In 2007, the first logo redesign was made. The company was looking for a recognizable symbol to support its image. Therefore, the developers gave color to the word, dividing it into two parts: the dark blue “Pay” and the light blue “Pal”. In addition, they increased the distance between the signs, the rounded corners and eliminated the usual contours.
2014 – Present
In 2014, the global system decided to change the logo again and turned to Fuseproject for help. The main objective was to adapt the icon to all screen sizes, from mini-screens to large flat monitors. At the same time, considerable attention was paid to PayPal’s heritage, the inextricable link between the old design and the new.
The previous brand did not reflect the company’s technological achievements, its transition from the era of web payments to the era of money transfers on mobile devices. A team led by Yves Behar conducted a visual audit of the previous logo to learn about the brand’s problems. Trying to avoid the mistakes made, the developers focused on trust and innovation.
Emblem
In 2014, the designers of Fuseproject created the first PayPal graphic symbol: a monogram consisting of a combination of “PP”. Initially, there was only a “P” on the emblem, but it was associated with a parking sign. Because of this, it was decided to add a second letter, place it on top, and use a translucent effect. Then the famous icon appeared, which emphasizes the concept of rapprochement and is an online system marketing chip.
In 2016, PayPal accused Pandora of copyright infringement. Lawyers said the music streaming service stole his signature image to circumvent the competition. The two logos are really similar. Judging from online reviews, people often mistake Pandora for the PayPal app.
Color
The new emblem is characterized by a bright palette in which shades of blue prevail. The selected color allows you to distinguish PayPal from other companies operating in the financial sector. It symbolizes openness, communication and arouses trust among users on a subconscious level.
Previously, the inscription of the logo was done in Verdana font. In 2014, designers began using a modified version of Futura with smooth edges and rounded “a” letters. Italic style conveys progress, innovation and advancement, because dynamism is one of the company’s key principles. To make the icon more mobile, the letters are placed close enough. Thanks to this, enrollment is best seen on small screens of smartphones and tablets.