The Citi Logo

The Citi logo, one of my favorite logos, has an interesting history to it. The interesting thing about it is how long it took to think up. Not very long at all.
It was sketched on a Napkin during a lunch break, and that very same napkin was displayed to the Citi group clients who had come to Pentagram (the firm I mentioned in my last post) for the new logo. Citi group and Travelers had just partnered and they needed a new logo to reflect the partnership.

picured: the art of Paula Scher

At first the new logo was met with some resistance, considering the presentation was less than usual. But after Pentagram displayed the new logo in a more professional form, the clients were satisfied. 

The logo may appear simple, but there's more to it. Citi group was originally just a font based logo, and Travelers was literal; an umbrella. By combining those two logos, the new Citi logo was born. Notice the red arch above the T, and how the lowercase t appears to be the handle of an umbrella. The red arch was taken from the Travelers logo. The simplicity gives way to deeper meanings. An umbrella can represent protection, and the blue stands for stability; the red for passion.