It’s hard to the quality for which Avon is best known. Is it the range of women’s daily use products? The pink color scheme? Or perhaps the once-ubiquitous Avon ladies, who sold their wares at parties and door to door? No matter how you know the company, though, you must admit that it’s something of an American classic at this point. Accompanying this classic brand through the years has also been a series of logos. By looking at the evolution of the Avon logo, one can see how the company has evolved with the times.
Avon Logo Design Elements
Avon logo is as minimalistic as it comes. Composed of only two elements and two colors, it’s a stark contrast to most of the other similar businesses on the market. In fact, that may be the very point of the logo – it looks endlessly professional, with no acknowledgment that much of the company’s business is done by those with little formal training. When you see the Avon logo, you are meant to see class – and insofar as the design is concerned, that’s certainly been a success.
Only two colors are used – black and pink. The black is a standard, serious business color. The pink is the company’s trademark color, one that speaks of femininity. The pink is used only as an accent, though, more as a nod to the company’s past than anything else. The simple, stark typeface of the logo is all business, showing consumers that Avon is a company to be taken seriously.
Changes and Evolution
1. Shape
The original shape of the Avon logo is almost frightfully domestic. Very much in line with what you’d see from other brands in the 1930s, it features a home with a gate in the shape of the company’s ‘A’. By 1936, the A would be the main part of the logo, albeit with a few flowers underneath. The 1947 version of the logo featured a bow-like design, while the 1954 version of the logo was as fifties as it gets. The logo gained a version of its current iteration in 1970, before switching to the modern logo in 1980.
2. Color
Avon has always used combinations of black and pink in their marketing. The vast majority of Avon’s logos have been monochromatic, with the lack of color representing quality. It’s surprising that the brand didn’t go with something more colorful in the 1950s, but instead choose to keep the same dark font even while other brands were experimenting with color. The feminine pink has been used sparingly in the logo, even though it plays a huge role in the company’s perception. It’s a color that apparently works much better on products than it does in a logo.
3. Font
Avon’s font has gone through some interesting changes. The original 1930s font was very feminine, while the 1947 font was had far less visual appeal. The font used in the 1950s was very stylized, looking more like the font you’d see on a guitar or a car than on a cosmetics company. By 1970, though, the company had moved to the all-caps font, something that was used by many other businesses at the time and that looked far more professional.
Influences/ Inspiration
If you want to see where Avon gets its influences, just head down to the cosmetics section of any major store. The company’s logo has always reflected trends in the industry, save for the original logos. In the modern era, you’re more likely to see Avon make a change when a number of its biggest competitors have done the same. It’s a follower to be sure, but one that has followed very well.
Avon has followed trends, not started them. Several other direct-to-consumer businesses have logos similar to Avon’s, but they tend to follow from Avon’s sources rather than the company itself. Instead, Avon’s influence tends to be more in how the businesses are structured than in how the logos are made.
Trivia
- Avon was founded as the California Perfume Company in 1886.
- Avon sells about four tubes of lipstick per second
- Avon’s ‘Little Dot’ scent has been around since 1886.
- Avon was the first beauty company to launch an e-commerce site.
- Avon has been on the Fortune 500 list every year since the list was started.
- Avon makes about eleven billion dollars per year.
Conclusion
Avon’s logo has changed with the times. It’s gone from a business that was primarily about attracting female sales reps to one that seems to be attempting to gain more professional credibility. Watching the change of the logo is a good way to determine how Americans have felt about the cosmetics industry in general and about Avon in particular.
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