Motorola is a Chicago-based company that is known for its innovations in the electronics and telecommunications sectors. Founded in 1928, the company has many firsts to its credit, including the car radio, walkie-talkie, cell phone, colour television tube, and the 32-bit microprocessor. The iconic visual identity of the company, in the form of its logo, has undergone a few transformations to keep up with the trends and demands of the market. In fact, the logo had four variations, wherein the first three were text-based, while the fourth and latest one featured a stylized form of the first letter “M.” The article traces the evolution of the Motorola logo over the years.
The Genesis of the Motorola Logo (1930–1955)
The history of the Motorola logo begins with the company’s founding in 1928 as Galvin Manufacturing Corporation. In the early years, the company used a simple wordmark logo featuring the Motorola name in a basic cursive-style sans-serif font. Interestingly, the horizontal bar on the letter “T” was depicted as a lightning bolt to represent the speed of electrical signal transmission. This straightforward design, with connected glyphs and soft contours of letters, reflected the company’s focus on practicality and functionality in its early radio products.
(1946-1950)
In the logo redesign of 1946, the vertically aligned letters had their glyphs connected horizontally. This looked different and unusual for a calligraphic font. Besides, the first and last letters had their tails stretched along the top left and bottom right, respectively.
(1950-1965)
In the logo iteration of 1950, the typeface used for the bold wordmark resembled Dharma Type’s Rama Slab E Bold. It was a bold serif typeface consisting of short, rectangular serifs. The text looked compact, with a truncated “r” and “t.” Overall, the wordmark appeared strong and evoked a sense of confidence.
(1955-Present)
The iconic Motorola logo that everyone recognises today is all due to the efforts of Thomas Miller. Unfortunately, due to his African American lineage, he was not recognised for his efforts initially. However, his name came to light when Morton Goldsboro Associates, a design firm, decided to hire him. The redesigned logo featured a solid black roundel with the stylized letter “M” in white placed at the centre. Interestingly, the letter “M” was formed out of two symmetrical triangular segments and oval-shaped recesses below them.
Resembling fountain pen nibs, batwings, mountain peaks, or simply tents, the combination of the geometric shapes looked like an abstract “M” symbol. Also, given that the logo resembles the wings of a bat, it is unofficially termed a batwing logo as well. The logo design demonstrated Motorola’s pioneering role as an equipment manufacturer and its desire to scale new heights.
The Elements of the Motorola Logo
Font
In June 1955, Motorola introduced its iconic “batwing” logo alongside a new corporate typeface, Univers Com 93 Extended Extra Black Oblique. This bold, oblique font was used for the company name but not for the logo itself. The batwing emblem was purely geometric, formed by combining simple shapes to create the abstract “M” symbol.
Prior to this, Motorola had experimented with various wordmarks, including two that mimicked handwriting and another featuring bold letters with short rectangular serifs. However, the new batwing logo without any text proved to be the most enduring and recognisable.
Colour
Motorola maintained a consistent colour scheme of black and white. This simplicity in colour choice emphasised the strong and distinctive shape of the logo. It reinforced Motorola’s image as a modern, forward-thinking company in the rapidly evolving electronics and telecommunications sectors.
The History of Motorola
Motorola’s journey began with its founding on September 25, 1928, by the Galvin brothers (Paul and Joseph Galvin), who initially named their venture Galvin Manufacturing Corporation. In 1930, one of the brothers created a new brand for car radios, and coined the term “Motorola.” This neologism combined “motor” (alluding to automobiles) with “ola,” a popular suffix at the time, and was inspired by brands like Victrola. The name “Motorola” gained such popularity that it eventually became the official name of the company.
The first product produced by Motorola was the “battery eliminator,” a device that allowed battery-powered radios to use household alternating current. In 1930, the company launched the affordable Motorola car radio, which became a popular automobile feature. By 1937, the company had expanded into home radios and introduced the first push-button car radio.
1940 saw Motorola develop two significant two-way radio products: an AM police radio system and the Handie-Talkie, a handheld device used in World War II. These were soon replaced by FM technology, with the FM Walkie-Talkie emerging in 1943. This backpack-carried device proved crucial in many Allied victories due to its superior range and clarity.
The company went public in 1943 and was rebranded as Motorola, Inc. in 1947. In 1948, it entered the television market with the Golden View television, an affordable set that captured 10% of the U.S. market by 1954. To promote TV adoption, Motorola created its own programme, the “Motorola TV Hour,” hosted by Robert Galvin, son of founder Paul Galvin. The company also expanded into hi-fi phonographs in the mid-1950s.
Robert Galvin became president in 1956, and shifted the focus of the company towards the business and government sectors. Motorola supplied radio equipment to space programmes, including the device that transmitted Neil Armstrong’s historic moon landing message in 1969. In 2011, Motorola split into Motorola Mobility (consumer products) and Motorola Solutions (business and government products). Google acquired Motorola Mobility in 2012 for $12.5 billion, and later sold it to Lenovo in 2014 for $2.91 billion while retaining many patents.
Interesting Facts About Motorola
- Motorola is a company known for innovation. For instance, the company invented the walkie-talkie, the car radio, the pager, the cell phone, and the 32-bit microprocessor.
- The original name of Motorola was “Galvin Manufacturing Corporation.”
- Motorola invented the first cell phone (the DynaTAC 8000x) in 1983.
- Motorola was the first radio company to land on the moon.
- It was Motorola’s radio transponder that transmitted the famous words spoken by Neil Armstrong: “One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”
- Motorola’s RAZR remains one of the best-selling mobile phones of all time.
- Motorola’s iDEN i1000 Plus was the first “smartphone” to include email, alphanumeric characters, and web browsing.
- Motorola is now owned by the Chinese company, Lenovo.
- In 1960, Motorola produced the first large-screen cordless, portable television in the world.
- Motorola introduced the first picture tube for colour television.
- Motorola introduced the first 32-bit microprocessor (MC68020) to the world.
- Before Nokia and until 1998, Motorola was the largest seller of mobile phones in the world.
Finally
The evolution of the Motorola logo over the years signifies the journey of the company as an equipment manufacturer as well. The latest and exquisite batwing logo highlights the design quality and style. The logo evokes a sense of professionalism and progressiveness. With the Motorola brand aiming for sustenance and growth in the competitive industry landscape, its logo will symbolise the company’s desire for progress and success in the future.