Indian Oil Corporation Limited, commonly known as IndianOil, is an Indian state-owned oil and gas company headquartered in New Delhi. Its current corporate logo, introduced in 2004, is a roundel-style mark featuring a saffron circle enclosed by white and dark blue outer rings, with the company name written in Devanagari script across a dark blue band. The logo is accompanied by the wordmark “IndianOil” in dark blue lettering when used without the full corporate name.
Design and History
The IndianOil logo has evolved through several distinct versions since the company’s early years. According to the company’s in-house publication IndianOil News, the logo has undergone transformations from a round mark with “IndianOil” written in English in the middle (1964), to the name in Hindi in the middle (1977), to “IndianOil” in English in blue and orange colours at the bottom of the logo (1996), and finally to the logo as it exists now (2004).[1]
The 2004 change was part of a broader marketing push. In April 2004, IndianOil’s marketing director N.G. Kannan announced the company was changing its corporate logo to one with “bright corporate orange and blue colours.”[2] At the same time, the company was changing the colour scheme of its retail outlets from rainbow colours to orange and blue to give them “a distinct visual identity.”[3]
Meaning and Symbolism
According to the official description published on IndianOil’s corporate website, the logo’s elements carry specific documented meanings. The saffron coloured circle or globe represents energy as a derivative of the Sun, connoting life and the future. The dark blue outer ring and the horizontal strip inside symbolise technology for harnessing this energy.[4] The same description is reproduced in the Government of India’s User Experience Design & Technology (UXDT) logo documentation.[5]
Typography and Design
The official logo guidelines state that whenever the logo is not accompanied by the full name “Indian Oil Corporation Limited,” the lettering “Indian Oil” in dark blue colour may be incorporated under the logo. The word “Indian Oil” should be used as one word with the letter “I” and “O” in capitals.[6]
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