ExxonMobil’s corporate wordmark combines the names of the two companies that merged in 1999, Exxon and Mobil, in a single red all-caps logotype. The most distinctive feature is the double X in “Exxon,” a device that dates back to the 1972 Exxon rebrand and was carried into the combined identity.
Design and History
The ExxonMobil identity was introduced in late 1999, shortly after the merger of Exxon Corporation and Mobil Corporation created the world’s largest oil group at the time. The new identity was designed by Lippincott & Margulies of New York, according to a company spokesman.[1] The oil group planned to retain the Exxon, Mobil and Esso brands alongside the new corporate identity.[2]
The double X in the Exxon portion of the wordmark has a longer history. Standard Oil of New Jersey hired industrial designer Raymond Loewy to create a new name and logo for the brand, because use of the Esso trademark was restricted in the United States.[3] Loewy proposed “Exxon” and produced 76 rough pencil sketches based on the word, placing visual emphasis on the double X. The two Xs subliminally recalled the Ss in Esso and helped ease the transition from the old name to the new.[3] The name was officially changed to Exxon in 1972, and the Loewy logo has been in use since.[4]
When Exxon and Mobil merged in 1999, the combined wordmark kept the Exxon double X and added the Mobil name in the same style and color.[5] The red, white and blue color schemes of the two predecessor brands fit together easily, as both used sans-serif lettering in similar palettes.[6]
Meaning and Symbolism
The double X in the Exxon wordmark was designed to recall the double S in Esso, easing the transition between the old and new names.[3] The crossing Xs have also been read as a cross of Lorraine, a symbol associated with the Knights Templar and Freemasonry, though this interpretation is speculative and not documented by the designer.[3] Some observers have noted that the long axis formed by the linked Xs resembles a gauge needle pointing toward empty.[4]
Exxon has actively protected the interlocking X mark. In 1985, the company sued Japanese camera maker Minolta over its MAXXUM logo, and in 2013 it filed a similar suit against the FX Networks channel FXX. Both disputes were resolved without changing the ExxonMobil mark.[4]
Typography and Design
The ExxonMobil wordmark uses sans-serif lettering in the same style as the Exxon logotype created by Loewy. The letters swell almost imperceptibly at their ends, an optical correction that makes the lines appear straight when viewed from a distance, counteracting parallax in the same way as the columns of the Parthenon.[6] The red letterforms are set against white, with the double X rendered in blue in the combined ExxonMobil mark.[7]
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