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Pepsi Logo History & Its Evolution Over 100 Years

by Henny Kel Tweet - in Logo Design

Pepsi Logo

Last updated on September 28th, 2023

Noticing a brand without noticing a logo is next to impossible. A logo is not only the ambassador but the core identity of a business. People become familiar with a brand when they look at its logo everywhere. However, a logo’s success is not a one-day process. For instance, the Pepsi logo also went through a series of changes in its evolutionary history of over 100 years. Let’s read the complete evolution of the Pepsi logo design over the period.

However, not all logos are capable of driving attention. Many businesses fail when it comes to conveying a brand message to customers. That is because the design of such logos is aimless and does not reflect the times and people’s expectations of their brands.

This is where an efficient logo maker can help by giving you access to dozens of unique logo ideas. Remember, almost all global brands have an iconic logo design that people can instantly identify.

For instance, logos of big brands are unique designs that stand out from their competitors. People can distinctly identify those logos, and hence brands.

The Pepsi logo is amongst such iconic symbols that soft-drink customers can immediately recall. People identify the logo just at a glance due to its simple but unique design.

But the globe Pepsi symbol that you see today was not the same in the past. The logo went through many design changes. Those changes were made to suit the trends, tastes, and thinking of people of those times.

So, if you are interested in knowing about the evolution of the Pepsi logo in the past 100 years, here is an account.

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How did it all start for Pepsi?

Cola Company

Before knowing the Pepsi logo history, let us first find out how the business started. A North Carolina pharmacist, Caleb D. Bradham had invented the original Pepsi Cola formula in 1893.

Bradman had installed a soda fountain inside his pharmacy. He served drinks made of the formula to the customers and named his popular drink as “Brad’s Drink.’’ It was a mix of water, sugar, lemon oil, caramel, nutmeg, kola nuts, and other additives.

With the popularity of the drink increasing, Brad now wanted to have a catchy name for it. So, he eventually named it Pepsi-Cola. He trademarked the title by the summer of 1903. Soon, the soda syrup was all over North California in pharmacies and other stores. The brand proliferated, and by 1910, it had franchises in 24 states.

Today, Pepsi Cola is one of the most famous beverage brands known for its chilling taste worldwide. Its logo has contributed a lot to the success of the company.

Pepsi logo is one of the most recognized logos across the globe. However, it is not appropriate to say that the logo became popular or recognizable due to the beverage’s popularity. The packaging design of Pepsi has contributed in a big way to the success of the brand.

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A Simple But Unique Logo

The Pepsico logo design is attractive, simple, and instantly visible and helps catch people’s attention. You can say that the logo design has contributed a lot to making Pepsi Cola the soft drink brand today.

People can immediately associate themselves with the company’s business by seeing its custom logo, thanks to the well-crafted design that has the same choice of colors, shape, and fonts.

A brand symbol created by an online logo generator or a designer carries the essence of a brand it stands for goes a long way in attracting customers.

However, the Pepsi Globe logo that we see today has undergone several changes over the years. The logo’s journey started when the company founder Caleb D. Bradham scrabbled a design that later gathered fame.

The design continued to be the company’s identity until 1940, when the company made changes in creating its logo for the first time.

After many changes, the new Pepsi logo is now a simple circular design without the company name. This simplified version of the logo looks great on all promotional campaigns such as t shirt design, websites, mobile apps, and others.

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How The Pepsi Logo Got Evolved Over the Decades?

1893–1898 – The Blue And Bold Font Logo

The first logo of the company was a blue wordmark that read ‘’Brad’s Drink’’. And the wordmark appeared against a white background. The company used a bold font that had some ornamentation to it. This ornate characteristic continued to be part of the Pepsi Logo for many years to come.

Brads-Drink

1898 – Use Of Swirly Script In The Logo

1898–1905

On August 28, 1898, the company decided to change its name to Pepsi-Cola from the original Brad’s Drink. Therefore, the Pepsi logo design also was radically changed to a swirl symbol.

Pepsi-Cola-Logo

1905–1906

By 1905 the logo started looking similar to its rival Coca-Cola logo. The swirls became bold and thick.

Pepsi-Cola-Logo-1905-1906

1906–1940

In 1906, the Pepsi logo underwent another change in design when the logo incorporated lots of text. The typography of the old Pepsi logo, however, was more or less the same. The logo attained a spherical shape for the first time, which became a significant success.

Pepsi-Cola-Drink

Also, the spherical shape continues to be part of the design till today. One of the reasons for the spherical shape of the Pepsi logo design was that the company wanted to accommodate the slogan “The Original Pure Food Drink’’ in the design. The swirl design was unchanged except that the lines became even thicker.

The 1940s

In the 1940s, Pepsi went back to a rectangular shape for the logo. The letters Pepsi Cola were in a rectangular box that had an entirely white background. The letters were in the red.

So, the contrast of white and red gave the logo its distinctness. But another reason for the vintage Pepsi logo having red and white Pepsi colors was to show support to America’s efforts in World War II. It was because of this support that the logo dropped its curlicues to some extent.

Pepsi Cola logo

The Pepsi Cola logo got a refined look when the swirled smoothened. By 1943, Pepsi designed its logo in the shape of a bottle cap. The slogan “Bigger Drink, Better Taste” was on the cap.

The new logo had clean letters with no elements of edges at the letters. This Pepsi redesign continued with the company for more than 20 years.

The 1950s – The Bottle Cap Design

In 1950, the company launched a new bottle cap logo. The logo had blue color for the first time. So, a combination of red, blue, and white in the Pepsi logo evoked patriotic feelings following World War II.

Bottle Cap Design

During the 1950s, Pepsi marketed itself as a brand with better value. Its tagline was “More bounce to the ounce,’’ That was about promising more soda per bottle than the rival Coca-Cola.

The 1960s – Cola Removed From The Logo

At the beginning of the 1960s, Pepsi made a significant change in its logo. It was the time when the company got rid of the Cola word from the Pepsi-Cola sign. Pepsi borrowed the word Cola from Coca-Cola, which was the leading competitor.

By now, Pepsi had grown up as a brand and could stand on its own. So, it did not require the Cola word anymore and was now known as Pepsi only.

Cap Design

As a result, the bottle cap design of Pepsi now appeared without the Cola word. It also helped in making the Pepsi logo even more simplified and attractive design. The logo bottle cap also was much flatter with just Pepsi on it.

Black Wordmark

Also, the logo was no more a swoopy and swirly red font. This font was in use for more than 64 years. But in the ‘60s, the company wanted to convey its confidence to the world.

So, they redesigned the logo to turn it into a black wordmark with Pepsi appearing in a bold and sans serif font across the bottle cap design. It was in the ‘60s that the Pepsi logo started having a more symmetrical look. Now, it appeared as a geometrically oriented modern design of those days.

At that time, Pepsi was specifically targeting younger consumers. The company had narrowed down the niche down to the young people and referred to them as the “Pepsi Generation’’. That was their tagline in the 1961 ad campaign.

Yet another major change in the Pepsi logo design during this period was incorporating a serrated bottle cap. The logo appeared as jagged at the edges.

In 1962, the design had two bulls eyes added to the words Pepsi. The bull’s eyes in the design expressed Pepsi’s domination in the global soft drinks market.

The 1970s Minimalist Globe Design

In the 1970s, societies across the world were going through radical changes, impacting the design of the Pepsi logo.

In 1973, sensing that people were embracing modernity and new technologies, the company thought it fit to have a minimalist drink logo design to make it look neat and clear.

And, in the 1970s, Pepsi adopted minimalism, which was picking up then as a new design trend. The graphic designers started creating simple designs, removing all the unnecessary elements that cluttered the space.

So, Pepsi also got rid of the segregated design and eliminated those ridges from the bottle cap Pepsi logo.

1970 Globe Design

Besides removing the ridges, the company colored the logo background, which was white so far. The red color found a place on the left side, the blue on the right, and the globe outline white.

Also, the stripe across the word “Pepsi’’ served as the background. The word Pepsi appeared in blue, and the font shrunk.

The minimised design chose to drop white color for the backdrop. Instead, the designers used white for outlining the rectangular and spherical boundaries of the Pepsi logo.

Blue and red dominated the color scheme of this company logo design. The word Pepsi was in a box with some alterations made in the typeface.

1987 – The Pepsi Font Introduced

In 1987, while the Pepsi logo was more or less the same but a significant development happened. The company launched its Pepsi Font. By incorporating the new font, the company gave a facelift to the logo.

Previously, the Pepsi logo had a sans serif font in all caps. In 1987, the company’s new font was still a bold and sans serif font, but the letters had a digital feel. This feel was futuristic at that time, replacing the old-fashioned basic block letters.

Pepsi Design

The letters “P’’s stretched, the ‘’E’’ was rounded, and the “S’’ appeared similar to the “S’’ of the Star War logo. The company continued with its custom font for over a decade.

Another change in the logo design during this period was the white background. The globe had a white outline and looked a bit thicker. The red in the logo was more violet.

1991 – Pepsi Logo Given A New Look

In 1991, the company shifted the Pepsi logo elements from here to there to give it a new and refreshing look. The designers changed the logo dramatically.

Under the new arrangements, the globe element and the wordmark appeared separately for the first time. The globe was shifted to the bottom right, separating it from the word “Pepsi’’.

Pepsi Logo New Look

“Pepsi’’ appeared in italicised font, and it stretched all across the top of the logo. It was there in blue. There was an extensive bar in red beneath the wordmark.

Red and blue dominated the Pepsi logo, and white made a comeback as a color for backspace.

1998 – A Flipped Pepsi Logo

In 1998, the company celebrated its 100th anniversary. To commemorate the anniversary, the company made some changes in its logo design.

The logo appeared in a different look. The blue text was in white. So, the white of the background was now in the word ‘’Pepsi’’. Blue became the background color in the Pepsi logo redesign.

Flipped Pepsi Design

So, the globe element moved up in the logo space and sat just below the wordmark. The Pepsi logo has depth, which was due to a gradient background. Also, the globe was emitting light and shadows. In this way, the logo looked like giving a 3 D effect.

The new Pepsi logo design had a refreshing three-dimensional look to the viewers.

2003 – The 3D Pepsi Logo

In 2003, the company gave its logo a 3D effect. So, the globe appeared as a shining ball, which also gave it a flat look. Now, both the wordmark and the globe were shining in the light and seemed to pop against the background.

The 3D Pepsi Logo

The Pepsi logo now had tiny serifs added to the font. And, the letters had thin light-grade line shading. It all contributed to the overall three-dimensional effect.

The Pepsi logo stayed with Pepsi for three short years but still appears on the drinks in some areas worldwide.

2006 – A Cool Version

In 2006, while the 2003 design continued to be in use, a slight change happened. The company gave it a cool look. This time, the Pepsi logo had some glistering droplets of condensation on the globe. That reminded people of a cold glass of soda. The rest of the logo was the same old design.

A Cool Version

2008 – Flat Logo

The company got rid of the 3D globe, and it became flat again. There was no more use of the Pepsi font, and now Pepsi Light font replaced it. The redesigned version had no serifs and no uppercase letter.

Also, the symmetrical band across the globe disappeared. Another slight change was in how the globe element looked. It had a tilt toward the left side so that the thicker white band was on the upward side.

Flat Design

At that time, the flat design trend was picking up. Brands such as BMW, Google, and others remodelled their logos to have an incisive graphic mark.

Now, the two-dimensional Pepsi logo was the most readable and legible logo version yet. In addition, the logo also got more screen-friendly.

2014 – A Slight Tweaking Of The Logo

Some people started to call the redesigned Pepsi logo soulless and cheap. Critics levelled the logo as pretentious and ridiculous. There was a largely negative response to the redesign. To somewhat counter that opinion, the company tweaked the logo.

redesigned Pepsi logo

So, in 2014, the Pepsi logo appeared minus the blue outline around the globe. That was a slight tweaking of the logo, but the rest of the symbol of 2008 was the same.

Current Pepsi Globe Logo

The 2008 globe logo appeared now in three thicknesses of the smile. The thinnest smile was for Diet Pepsi, the thicker for regular Pepsi, and the broadest for Pepsi Max.

The Pepsi logo design of 2008 continues to be the company’s logo to this date. Today’s Pepsi Globe logo has a design that gives the impression of a smile.

Current Pepsi Logo

The current logo retains its uniqueness by combining its traditional colors, shapes, and font style. The spherical shape of the logo has a swirl in the middle. The swirl separates the upper disk of the Pepsi logo from the lower one.

The Smiling Face

The designers tweaked the middle white space to give the logo a smiling face. This way, the logo looks appealing. The present Pepsi logo uses blue and red as these are contrasting colors.

The middle white strip enhances the contrast even more for producing an irresistible spectacle. The words Pepsi are typecast at the side of the globe, this time in the lower case.

The newest Pepsi logo has all three colors, white, blue, and red, in a spherical shape. But the white band in the middle breaks the rounded shape. The logo has the words Pepsi designed in lowercase.

The current Pepsi logo has a patriotic palette of the 40s, a minimalistic design approach of the 60s and 70s, and script-like curves from the logos original look.

The present Pepsi logo was created in 2008 when the company started revamping its brand as part of its global re-branding strategies. The company wanted to make the new logo look relevant to the consumers who had changed a lot since 1993.

Despite the changes, the Pepsi logo maintained its uniqueness of shape, colors, and font style, which is the unique quality of famous logos.

Since Pepsi’s establishment in 1898, the world has seen a lot of technological advancement. But Pepsi did not allow these technologies. Ultimately, it all influenced its logo design. The company knew that its customers would not like a completely transformed Pepsi logo design.

So, the Pepsi logo steadily evolved over the years to please the day’s audience. The company redesigned the logo as per the message of the day for the target audience. It went from having classic lettering to a few more elements, and now it is finally a simple globe logo.

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Wrapping Up

The Pepsi logo evolved from a swirly red-colored logo in classic lettering. Then, it appeared as the bottle cap design. It evolved into a minimalistic design with red, white, and blue colors. The Pepsi font used by the company also gave the logo a unique look. Then, the globe and wordmark were shifted here and there in the logo space to provide it with a refreshing look. The logo is a sleek wordmark with a smiley globe in red, white, and blue.

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I am a graphic, web designer and blogger with over 6 years experience. I am very passionate about anything related to design and spends copious amounts of time hidden behind a book or a screen and reading about design. Twitter

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