First Horizon is the unified brand of First Horizon Corporation, the Memphis-based financial services company that operates First Horizon Bank, First Horizon Advisors and FHN Financial. The company adopted the First Horizon name for all of its businesses in fall 2019, replacing the First Tennessee Bank, Capital Bank, FTB Advisors and FTN Financial brands that had previously operated under the First Horizon National Corporation parent company. [1]
Design and History
The First Horizon logo has its roots in the late 1990s, when the company first used “First Horizon” as a brand name outside Tennessee. The original mark was designed as a stylized section of the Tennessee state flag, with a curving white line implying a horizon, and a star, stripe and red, white and blue colors conveying a national emblem. [2]
In June 2019, First Horizon National Corporation announced it would bring together its family of companies under a unified set of brand names and a new logo. Capital Bank, First Tennessee Bank, FTB Advisors and FTN Financial were renamed First Horizon Bank, First Horizon Advisors and FHN Financial, respectively. [1] The rebranding took effect at the close of business on Oct. 25, 2019. [3]
The updated logo received “subtle tweaks to the coloring, and the swoop over the star will face the opposite direction” compared with the previous version. [4] Company leadership described the updated logo as paying “homage to our Tennessee heritage, yet is updated and has a modern look.” [1] The new logo and building signage were unveiled Oct. 21, 2019, at the company’s Memphis headquarters. [5]
Meaning and Symbolism
The current First Horizon logo is described in its trademark registration as “a square having two rounded edges and two square edges with a curved stripe near the middle of the square and five point star in the center.” [6] The company’s brand standards refer to the symbol as the “North Star Icon.” [7]
The earlier First Horizon trademark registration, filed in 2004, claimed red, white and blue as features of the mark, with blue appearing in the letters forming “FIRST HORIZON” and in the background of the star. [8] The Capital Bank trademark, which used the same square-and-star design before the 2019 unification, described the upper portion of the square as red, the bottom portion as blue with a white five-point star in the center. [9]
Typography and Design
According to First Horizon’s official logo usage guidelines, the First Horizon and First Tennessee logotypes are “specially designed versions of the Weiss font which use some modified letters, spacing and boldness.” The guidelines instruct that the approved logotype must always be used with the TennStar symbol. [10]
The brand standards also specify that the North Star Icon should not be misinterpreted, modified or added to, and that the icon should not be produced in sizes less than 1/4 inch square. [7]
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