The Amazon Kindle is Amazon’s line of e-reader devices and reading applications, launched with the first Kindle device in November 2007. The Kindle name was created by San Francisco designer Michael Cronan and his partner Karin Hibma, who were asked by Lab126, an Amazon subsidiary, to name a consumer product line. The name “Kindle” means to set alight or start to burn, and its roots trace to the Old Norse word kyndill, meaning candle. Hibma noted that the name was chosen to be “memorable, and meaningful in many ways of expression,” and that it had “deep roots in literature.” [1]
Design and History
The Kindle brand identity underwent a significant update on October 16, 2024, when Amazon announced a completely new line of Kindle devices, including the first color Kindle. The new logo removed the “Amazon” wordmark entirely, shifting the brand focus from “Amazon Kindle” to simply “Kindle,” reinforcing Kindle’s position as an independent brand. [2]
The 2024 logo retains Amazon’s signature smile arrow, which is now integrated with the lowercase “k” of the “kindle” wordmark. The design uses a minimal black typeface on a plain background, with the arrow emblem drawn beneath the wordmark in black. [2] [3]
Prior to the 2024 redesign, the Kindle logo from 2007 through 2024 combined the “Amazon” wordmark with the orange arrow-smile and “Kindle” in a simpler, finer typeface in bright orange. [3] The first-generation Kindle device, made in 2007, featured a co-molded logo on the front, designed to ensure it would never rub off. [4]
Meaning and Symbolism
The smile arrow in the 2024 Kindle logo symbolizes the connection from A to Z, indicating that Kindle remains an important part of the Amazon ecosystem. The arrow element is described as conveying the brand’s inheritance and continuity. [2]
For the Kindle app, a separate visual identity has existed featuring a boy reading under a tree. In October 2017, the Kindle app received a new logo that zoomed in on this scene, removing the tree and the “Kindle” text to focus solely on the reading boy. Kindle creative director Seth Micarelli explained the change: “This scene of the kid reading under the tree, we’ve really zoomed in on that for the new icon to focus on that reading moment, to focus on that sanctuary that comes with a great story and being lost in that.” [5]
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