The modern, bright, and original logo of Netflix attracts attention and is easily perceived. The visual sign and text module symbolize a passion for the offered entertainment, reflecting the brand’s important features.
Netflix: Brand overview
Netflix is an online entertainment service founded in 1997 by two business partners, Marc Bernays Randolph, and Wilmot Reed Hastings Jr. It offers TV shows and movies for rent and streaming services. Based in California, it covers a wide audience: more than 190 countries.
Meaning and History
The company acquired the trademark with the inscription “Netflix” in 1997, but it did not last long. In 2000, designers changed the approach to design, adding bright colors and making the inscription symmetrical. This was a transitional stage to the modern logo.
What is Netflix?
Netflix is an American media company based in Los Gatos (California), which operates a video service of the same name. The company was founded in 1997, but in 2011, it began producing and distributing original content through its streaming platform. In 2022, the company expanded its specialization to include video games. The company’s founders are Marc Randolph and Reed Hastings.
1997 – 2000
The debut logo is characterized by some “disarray.” Visually, it is divided into several fragments. Even the letters in the word “Netflix” are broken into parts: the uppercase “N” and “F” are larger than “E,” “T,” “L,” “I,” and “X,” which are also written in uppercase. This is specifically done to distinguish the parts Net and Flix.
Another symbolic element is the film strip. It is outlined around the first half of the word and dissolves into a white background. The black-purple gradient gives the drawing dynamism. The custom-designed font enlivens the logo with thin, elongated lines and sharp serifs.
2000 – 2001
The Netflix logo from 2000 significantly differs from other year variants. The letters in it are curved, worm-like, and chopped. They lack traditional components, so they are perceived more as graphic design than as alphabet elements. The letters “N” and “F” have rounded corners instead of angles. Interestingly, the inscription combines lowercase and uppercase symbols, and instead of a dot, the letter “i” has a television screen. The background for the white text is a black oval, taken into wide yellow brackets on the right and left.
2001 – 2014
In 2000, the company adopted a new logo, changing the style of the inscription. The word “Netflix” now has the form of a low arc. Designers borrowed this technique from vintage CinemaScope. Black outlines and shadows surround the white sans-serif letters. Thanks to such a contrasting combination of colors, they stand out clearly against the red background.
2014 – today
In June 2014, the owners of the streaming service conducted a global rebranding. This process involved the design studio Gretel from New York. Specialists developed another brand name and changed the website interface. In the updated logo, there are no dark shadows that are used to weigh down the visual perception. There is only the company name, highlighted in red: Netflix. The inscription is made with a non-standard font. It is based on Gotham Book and Gotham Bold.
Font and Colors
In June 2016, another element of the brand’s graphic visualization appeared – an icon in the shape of the letter “N.” The letter consists of several wide lines formed by different shades of red.
Representatives of the service explained that this emblem is used alongside the main corporate symbol. It is intended for mobile applications, social networks, and websites and rarely appears in teasers and press materials. In the latter, the full-size version of the logo is more common.
Both the letter “N” and the word “Netflix” have the same palette. The overwhelming majority of inscriptions are made in the shade of Netflix Red. But if they are used as watermarks, white is permissible instead of red. The preferred background is black. In rare cases, other options are possible: for example, white and light, non-contrast shades. According to the brand’s concept, the main red-black color scheme should emphasize the cinematography of the premium class.