Arrow or Smile: What Message Is Hidden in Amazon Logo?

Out of a small book store, Amazon has grown into one of the biggest e-shopping platforms. The company uses its truly exceptional logo to communicate with its clients on a daily basis. In this article, we’ll reveal the meaning behind the Amazon emblem.  

1. Amazon logo: Backstory and evolution 
2. Symbolism behind the Amazon emblem 
3. How would Amazon logo look like if it were made in ZenBusiness?

Amazon logo: Backstory and evolution 

Designed in 1994, the first Amazon emblem looked nothing like the modern piece. It featured a massive letter A stylized as River Amazon, with the words “Amazon.com. Earth’s biggest bookstore”. 

In 1997, the brand started experimenting on its emblem. The first change was all about simplification. The emblem got a mode modern, edgy look. The redesigned version had the black website name “amazon.com” and company slogan written against a white background. The following year, when Amazon started to expand its product range, it decided to drop the slogan. As for the website name, it got a golden letter “O” in the middle. Aso, all the letters were now made uppercase. However, that version didn’t last long.

A refreshing orange curve was first introduced in 1998. Although at first it didn’t look like a smile, it certainly gave a more friendly look to the logo. The letters were brought back to lowercase.  

Finally, in 2000, the online giant came up with the emblem that we all know and love — the one with a curvy arrow connecting letters А and Z. In 2012, when the brand expanded offline, it removed the extension “com” from its corporate design.  

Symbolism behind the Amazon emblem 

Amazon’s visual symbol incorporates two meanings. Do you know what they are? If not, keep on reading!

When looking at the curvy orange line, you can’t help but think about a smile. Indeed, this is exactly was the logo designer Turner Duckworth had in mind! Amazon wanted to use the smile symbol to the maximum. Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, was unwilling to spend an extra budget on designing packaging and other branding elements. Then Duckworth suggested putting a smile on boxes, bags, and other carriers. 

Marketing-wise, that was an extremely smart decision. Now the company was delivering smiles directly to their customers’ doorstep!

The orange color of the arrow further enhances the friendly and warm vibes coming from the logo. By the way, did you know that Amazon runs a charity fund named…”Smile”?

And we’re not nearly done with the hidden riddles! The smile is also an arrow that goes from A to  Z in the word “Amazon”. This path from the first to the last letter of the English alphabet means to say that the e-commerce website offers an exhaustive range of products. Also, the arrow stands for continuous growth and perseverance in achieving goals. Those are the values shared by the big Amazon team. 

How would Amazon logo look like if it were made in ZenBusiness?

Final thoughts

The Amazon emblem bears a double meaning while being simple and versatile at the same time. It’s a great example of an individual graphic design (the arrow, in this case) going beyond a logo and becoming something more. Thanks to clever positioning, the Amazon’s smile has become as popular and identifiable as the logo itself.