Billboard, the music industry’s long-running trade publication and chart authority, has used a distinctive lowercase wordmark since a 2013 brand refresh by Pentagram. The identity is notable for its geometric letterforms and, in its color version, the vibrant hues that fill the counters of the “o” characters.
Design and History
Billboard was founded in 1894 as a trade publication covering advertising and live entertainment, and it began publishing music charts in the 1930s, launching its signature Hot 100 in 1958.[1] The magazine’s familiar masthead identity, featuring lettering with strong circular forms that suggested records (and later CDs) and “kicky ‘mod’ colors,” dated to 1966.[1] The original colorful logo was created by Jim Parkinson in 1963, with a later retouched version credited to Parkinson in collaboration with Josh Klenert.[2]
In January 2013, Pentagram partner Michael Bierut and his team redesigned Billboard’s graphic identity, including its famous charts.[1] As part of the refresh, the logo was completely redrawn to emphasize the basic geometry of the name, creating a typeface that echoes the circles of the original and still looks “pop.”[1] The designers set the name entirely in lowercase, tightened the spacing, and removed the colors from the circles in the print version, which made the print look “immediately more grown-up and serious” and easier to design with full-bleed color photographs.[1] The color version of the logo was retained on the new website (designed by Area 17) as well as in retail uses and event marketing.[1]
The project team included Michael Bierut as partner-in-charge and designer, with Laitsz Ho, Michael Deal, Lisa Maione, Deva Pardue and Jessica Svendsen as designers.[2] The redesign also introduced a coordinated suite of typefaces for the magazine’s interior, including LL Brown, Lyon Display and Atlas Grotesk for headers, Lyon Text for body copy, and Ziggurat for special features and advertorials.[1]
Meaning and Symbolism
Pentagram’s description of the 2013 redesign documents the intended symbolism of the earlier mark: the strong circular forms in the lettering “suggested records (and later CDs)” and the “kicky ‘mod’ colors” gave the masthead its distinctive character.[1] The redrawn logo was designed to “echo the circles of the original” while still looking “pop.”[1] The color version of the logo, which retains the colored circles, continues to be used on the website and in marketing materials.[1]
Typography and Design
The 2013 logo was completely redrawn as a custom typeface that emphasizes the basic geometry of the name, set entirely in lowercase with tightened spacing.[1] The new wordmark is thicker than the previous version, and the initial letter changed from a capital “B” to a lowercase “b.”[3] The color version of the logo retains the colored circles in the counters of the letters, while the print version appears without them.[1]
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