Carte Bleue is the French payment card brand launched in 1967 by five major banks, including BNP, Crédit Lyonnais, Société Générale, Crédit Commercial de France and Crédit Industriel et Commercial. The brand’s visual identity centers on the “CB” monogram, which has evolved from a simple blue mark into the widely recognized logo of the Groupement des Cartes Bancaires, France’s national interbank payment network.
Design and History
The original Carte Bleue logo was created in 1967 by the illustrator Chourgnoz, who designed a mark consisting of the two letters “CB” [1]. The color blue was chosen for its evocation of celestial immensity, and also as a nod to the shirts worn by French rugby players at international matches [2]. On the first cards, the CB logo stood for “Carte Bleue” [3].
In 1984, French banks created the Groupement des Cartes Bancaires CB to ensure interoperability of payment cards in France [4]. The logo CB that still appears on most French bank cards was born in January 1985, at the same time as this economic interest group [5]. The letters CB were kept, but this time they meant “Cartes Bancaires” [3].
In 2014, the Groupement des Cartes Bancaires CB commissioned the agency Extrême to subtly refresh the logo, aiming for more modernity and better legibility across all media, particularly on the internet and mobile [4]. The redesign kept the white letters CB on a rectangular background with a blue-to-green gradient, but reworked the gradient itself: it became rotating rather than linear, to place the “blue” and “green” banks on an equal footing. The letters C and B were enlarged and rounded [4].
Meaning and Symbolism
The blue-to-green gradient in the CB logo represents the association of two banking universes: the member banks of the Groupement for blue, and the mutualist banks for green [4]. This dual-color scheme dates to 1984, when the Crédit Agricole and Banques Populaires joined the Carte Bleue group, adding a green color that mixed with the blue [1].
Typography and Design
The current CB logo features stylized white letters “CB” centered on a rectangular background with a blue-to-green gradient [4]. The trademark registration describes a blue frame with stylized white letters “CB” centered within it [6]. After the 2014 refresh, the letters were enlarged and rounded for improved legibility on digital screens [4].
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