OneUnited Bank is a Boston-based, Massachusetts-chartered trust company and the largest Black-owned bank in the United States, with branches in Boston, Miami, and Los Angeles. Its visual identity, built around the “ONEUNITED” wordmark, has been in continuous use since the early 2000s, following the bank’s formation through a merger of several community banks.
Design and History
The current OneUnited Bank logo was developed in 2003, when the bank selected Brand Equity International, a Newton, Massachusetts-based firm with a long history of creating corporate identities for banks, to design its new brand. The firm’s creative director, Joseph Selame, had previously worked on notable bank identities including the clipper ship emblem for State Street Bank & Trust Co. in the 1970s. The 2003 rebrand accompanied the bank’s adoption of the OneUnited name, which was chosen to reflect its mission of uniting urban communities. [1]
The “ONEUNITED BANK” trademark was filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on July 16, 2002, and registered on December 14, 2004. The registration remains active and renewed. [2]
Meaning and Symbolism
The USPTO trademark registration describes the mark as a design featuring “circles within a circle” and “other lines, bands or bars,” indicating the logo’s geometric construction. [2] The bank’s branding strategy has been described as taking an “unapologetically Black” approach to financial wellness, with the name itself intended to convey unity and community focus. [3]
Typography and Design
Brand asset databases list the bank’s primary brand colors as a gold tone (hex #CC9900), a blue tone (hex #56B0EE), and a deep navy blue (hex #0C2D83). [4] The bank has also registered several related wordmarks over the years, including “UNITY,” “ONELOVE,” “BUYBLACK,” and “BANKBLACK,” reflecting its broader brand family. [5]
Logo Index is an independent educational archive covering logos, visual identities and graphic design history. All trademarks and brand assets remain the property of their respective owners.
