AccuWeather Inc. is an American media company providing commercial weather forecasting services worldwide. Founded in 1962 by Dr. Joel N. Myers, then a Pennsylvania State University graduate student, the company began when Myers started forecasting the weather for a gas utility company in Pennsylvania.[1]
Design and History
The current AccuWeather logo features a sun emblem alongside the AccuWeather wordmark. According to the company’s official brand guidelines, the primary logo includes the sun and AccuWeather text in line, and they should never be applied separately or rearranged.[2] A stacked version places the sun above the AccuWeather text for use when space does not allow for the primary logo.[2]
In April 2013, AccuWeather introduced a new brand identity system, revealed at the opening of the National Association of Broadcasters trade show in Las Vegas. The updated identity featured a sun logo along with the AccuWeather name, with the sun logo chosen to symbolize the brand across its digital iterations, including smartphone and tablet apps and social media.[3] The new look also included a bright shade of orange, tying into the sunny and warm feel of the sunshine imagery.[4] Prior to this redesign, AccuWeather used an italicized rendition of the company’s name with rays cutting through the word “weather,” as well as a treatment that added “.com” to the logo and encapsulated it in a blue petal shape.[4]
In 2019, AccuWeather worked with branding agency loyalkaspar to refresh its brand system, focusing on clarity and efficiency.[5] The update was made in conjunction with AccuWeather’s newly designed app, launched in July 2020, which incorporated significant enhancements based on user feedback.[6] The challenge was to balance ownable, recognizable brand assets with clarity of weather information, given that weather conventions such as storm maps have pre-existing meaning assigned to certain colors and shapes.[6]
Meaning and Symbolism
The sun emblem has been a consistent element of AccuWeather’s identity since the 2013 redesign. The sun logo was selected to symbolize the brand across its digital platforms, including smartphone and tablet apps and social media.[3] The bright orange color used in the logo ties into the sunny and warm feel of the sunshine imagery.[4]
Typography and Design
As part of the 2019 brand refresh, loyalkaspar introduced a custom typeface called Solis, designed by Laura Meseguer of Type-Ø-Tones and Dyana Weissman of Kerns & Cairns.[5] Solis, named after the sun, was developed primarily for use on vertical screens and information-dense settings, since the majority of AccuWeather’s users access the platform on their phones.[5] The typeface was engineered for clarity, with wide open apertures and curves, and was designed to perform at both small sizes on mobile screens and large sizes on the 24/7 AccuWeather Network channel.[5] Meseguer delivered six weights, each with accompanying italics.[5]
According to AccuWeather founder and CEO Dr. Joel Myers, “commitment to detail is built into every aspect of our innovation at AccuWeather, right down to our font.”[5]
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