Seagram is a historic Canadian spirits brand, originally established as Joseph E. Seagram & Sons in Waterloo, Ontario, and later known as The Seagram Company Ltd. before its beverage operations were sold to Diageo and Pernod Ricard in 2000. Today, the Seagram name survives on products such as Seagram’s Gin, owned by Pernod Ricard, and Seagram’s 7 Crown, owned by Diageo. The brand’s visual identity is built around a family crest that has appeared on its packaging for generations.
Design and History
The most recognizable element of the Seagram identity is the family crest. The Seagram’s Gin website states that “since 1939, the Seagram’s Gin crest represents a commitment to authenticity.”[1] The crest features three horses and surrounding ornamental filigree, as documented by illustrator Steven Noble, who was commissioned by the San Francisco design agency Hatch Design to render a new version of the logo identity for Seagram’s.[2]
Noble’s illustrations, created by hand from a scratchboard clay surface in an etching style, included three detailed versions for use at different scalable sizes, from one inch up to twelve inches and above, for printing on aluminum cans and packaging crates and boxes.[2] The commission was reported in March 2018.[3]
Earlier in the 2010s, Hatch Design also refreshed the Seagram’s sparkling beverage line for The Coca-Cola Company. According to the agency, the team “modernized the brand’s crest” and used it in new ways, describing the crest as “now more of a friendly element than a crown jewel,” with treatments such as placing type over it and wrapping it around the corners of cases.[4]
Historical records show the crest has long been a central part of the brand’s packaging. A Smithsonian collection record for a Joseph E. Seagram & Sons Limited sheet from Montreal describes “the characteristic coat of arms logo of the Seagrams Co. in red and gold, with ‘S’ flanked by two horses.”[5] A label from Seagram’s V.O. Canadian whisky similarly depicts “a red S in a gold background circle, white edge” with white horses on either side standing on hind legs.[6]
Meaning and Symbolism
The Seagram’s Gin brand explicitly ties its crest to its core values. The official brand site states that “since 1939, the Seagram’s Gin crest represents a commitment to authenticity,” and lists Integrity, Craftsmanship and Tradition as the values displayed on its products.[1]
The crest’s date of origin is sometimes claimed to be 1857, the year the original distillery was founded, though this claim is not officially documented by the brand itself.[7]
Typography and Design
Historical Seagram packaging used Old English style type for the company name, as documented in a Smithsonian record describing “company name across top in Old English style type in blue and gold.”[5] The current Seagram’s Gin wordmark and its typographic details are not documented in available official sources.
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.
