Wells Fargo & Company is one of the largest financial services firms in the United States. It boasts a rich history that dates back to the mid-19th century. Founded during the California Gold Rush, the company has evolved significantly over the years. The Wells Fargo logo is a known emblem in American financial history, which is deeply rooted in the company’s origins and its evolution over time. This article explores the various iterations of the logo over the years.
The Genesis of the Wells Fargo Logo (1852 – 1960) (Unavailable)
The original logo featured a monochrome image of a six-horse stagecoach to symbolise reliability and speed in delivering goods and services. However, the same is not available to date.
(1960 – 1962)
The logo redesign of 1960 featured a white oval with a double black framing. At the centre of the oval was the monochrome image of a stagecoach in black-and-white with 18 and 52 (the founding year) marked on either side. On the periphery of the oval appeared the wordmarks “WELLS FARGO BANK” at the top and “AMERICAN TRUST COMPANY” at the bottom in long serifs.
(1962)
In 1962, the stagecoach symbol was enclosed within a rhombus consisting of a frame made of two solid black stripes and two pieces of thin parallel stripes. Below the symbol appeared the name of the company, “WELLS FARGO BANK,” in large capital letters with serifs.
(Before 1996)
The logo design of this period featured the monochrome image of a six-horse-drawn wagon or a Concord stagecoach, which was quite common in the American Wild West. The stagecoach emblem was professionally executed with every detail marked, such as the silhouettes of people. Beneath the emblem appeared the Wells Fargo name in all capitals and executed in a bold serif typeface, which was separated from the emblem by a thin black line.
(1996 – 2019)
In 1996, the redesigned logo featured the brand name in yellow capitals and enclosed within a red square. The letters of the brand name were written using a traditional serif typeface where the serifs were enlarged. The second part of the logo comprised the colourful image of an iconic stagecoach and horses. It was complemented by the slogan in red, “Together we’ll go far,” placed above the horses.
(2019 – Present)
The logo redesign of 2019 was a rehash of the earlier logo but with slight modifications to the typeface and removal of some colour elements from the wordmark. For instance, the wordmark inside the red square was written in white with thick letters. Designed by Siegel and Gale, the design had the wordmark written in a Wells Fargo sans-serif typeface. The stagecoach symbol was now made in yellow with white accents without the slogan to make the logo more stylish and concise.
The Elements of the Wells Fargo Logo
Font
The logo of Wells Fargo uses a clear sans-serif typeface, which belongs to the family of fonts called Arsher. Here, Arsher combines two font styles—Antiques and Geometrics.
Colour
The Wells Fargo logo features two colours: deep red and golden yellow. The deep red conveys passion and energy, while golden yellow symbolises wealth and optimism. The two colours echo its roots during the Gold Rush.
Finally
The evolution of the Wells Fargo logo reflects changes in design preferences and illustrates how companies adapt their branding strategies over time to maintain relevance in an ever-changing marketplace.