SHELL — an insight into one of the world’s most recognisable corporate logos
Shell — or Royal Dutch Shell plc to give it its full name — is a British-Dutch oil and gas corporation headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands. Founded in 1907 as a result of a merger between rival companies Royal Dutch Petroleum Company and the Shell Transport and Trading Company, Shell has risen to become one of the most profitable companies in the world, with a universally recognised brand identity to match.
The origins of the Shell name begin as early as 1891, when Marcus Samuel and Company used the word as a trademark for shipping kerosene to the Far East. The company, based in London, originally began dealing in antiques, ornamental trinkets and oriental seashells. These items proved so popular that they formed the backbone of the company’s import/export operation with the Far East.
As the operation expanded, in 1897, Samuel formed the Shell Transport and Trading Company, where the Shell name first appeared in the business’ operating title. The first logo was a mussel shell, designed in 1900. However, this was short-lived and was changed to a scallop shell, specifically the Pecten genus, just four years later.
In 1907, Samuel’s Transport and Trading Company merged with the Dutch oil enterprise Royal Dutch Petroleum Company to form the company we know today — Royal Dutch Shell plc — or Shell, for short.
The company adopted the Shell Transport and Trading identity and, whilst evolving slightly over the years as trends in graphic design do so, the branding has remained simple, straightforward and direct as the company has expanded, and in doing so, has allowed the humble scallop shell to become one of the most well-known symbols in the world of international trade.
Colour Era
In 1915, Shell Oil, the subsidiary responsible for Shell’s North American operations, opened an oil refinery in Martinez, California. This was Shell’s first ever refinery, and led to the now iconic red and yellow with which Shell is associated. California was previously a Spanish colony, and as a result, a large percentage of residents are of Spanish descent. Shell wanted to create a sense of community between their operation and the residents of California, and thus introduced the two shades — representative of the Spanish Flag.
From 1948 onward, the Pecten has been displayed in these two colours. Initially, the logo incorporated text — ‘Shell’, naturally, was emblazoned across the shell in white. As the 1948 revision was before the age of fax machines and mass printing, the icon itself was rather detailed, which would be unusual by today’s standards. To make activity regarding the logo more straightforward in respect to the technology available, the logo was overhauled in 1955 with a far more minimalist approach, which removed all superfluous texture whilst keeping the general look of the pecten shell. This ensured no detail would be lost in printing. The text was also amended to now appear in the same shade of red as the outer shell, keeping the colour palette to a bare minimum. The logo was then amended again in 1961, with the red outline of the shell now becoming a square in the same red shade as previous iterations.
1971- The Loewy Years
Raymond Loewy, 1893–1986, was a French-born American industrial designer whose multidisciplinary work spans the vast majority of the 20th century. He is perhaps one of the most influential designers in history, and has worked with clients such as BP, Exxon, Lucky Strike, Studebaker and even the United States Air Force, as the designer of the Air Force One livery. However, perhaps his most recognisable work comes in the form of a simple bicolour maritime logo.
With his iteration of the logo — an iteration which has remained largely unchanged for nearly half a decade — Loewy’s work for Shell in 1971 laid the groundwork for the one of most effective examples of corporate identity in design history. Loewy’s version of the logo moves the text from the shell itself down underneath the icon, a move which allowed the icon to become associated with the company without any text whatsoever, and also allowed for more versatility regarding branding guidelines and marketing endeavours such as motor racing sponsorship.
The text was updated in 1995 to a more modern, sleek typeface which was coordinated alongside the rise of digital technology such as computers becoming readily available to consumers. Shell had entered the digital age, and this typeface change signified that — the lettering was chosen carefully as this would not only be seen out in the open anymore, but also online.
The red and yellow simple shell shape has become synonymous with the company — so much so that in 1999, text was removed from the logo altogether. This revision is the one that remains with us today, and is perhaps indicative of Shell’s diversification into other forms of power and fuel, such natural gas and renewables, as the world becomes increasingly aware of environmental issues surrounding the oil industry as well as the alarming rate in which our oil resources are being depleted. It will definitely be interesting to see how Shell adapts to a post-oil future, and what, if any effect this will have on that iconic red and yellow pecten shell.
