HBO Max was the streaming service launched by WarnerMedia on May 27, 2020, combining the entire HBO catalog with content from Warner Bros., DC, Turner networks, and acquired programming.[1] Its visual identity, created by the New York-based studio Trollbäck+Company, was designed to build on the legacy of the HBO brand while signaling a broader, more vibrant content offering.[2]
Design and History
In 2019, WarnerMedia approached Trollbäck+Company to develop the brand identity for its then-unannounced streaming service. The studio’s primary task was to create a logo that would be memorable and instantly recognizable, while also working with executives on launch positioning strategy.[3]
The resulting HBO Max logo stacked the classic HBO wordmark above a lowercase “max” logotype. According to Trollbäck+Company, the design “nods to the broad curves and sharp corners of its iconic namesake,” with lowercase letterforms helping to keep the logotype proportional and balanced while adding a friendly personality.[2] The studio also designed a suite of cross-platform logo applications, from stacked social versions to a simplified favicon, and laid the groundwork for the design system’s typography, color palette, and animation.[3]
An earlier logo concept, revealed in July 2019, had featured the HBO wordmark in a rounded box above a gradient-filled “Max” with an exaggerated “X.” That design was replaced by the Trollbäck+Company approach shown at the WarnerMedia Day event in October 2019.[4]
After WarnerMedia merged with Discovery to form Warner Bros. Discovery in 2022, the company announced a rebrand. The service relaunched as simply “Max” in May 2023, with a new identity created by the London-based agency DixonBaxi.[5] The new logo dropped the HBO wordmark entirely, replacing the purple palette with blue.[5]
Meaning and Symbolism
The HBO Max logo’s blue and violet gradient variation, used largely in off-platform marketing, was intended to reinforce the service’s “vibrant spectrum of content.”[2] The gradient colors were documented between hex codes #991EEB and #5822B4.[6]
When DixonBaxi created the 2023 Max identity, the logo was designed to fuse the bullseye from the HBO logo with the curves of the Warner Bros. shield, paying homage to the brand’s legacy.[7] The lowercase “a” in the Max wordmark contains a dot that echoes the circle inside the “O” of the HBO logo.[5]
Typography and Design
Trollbäck+Company created a set of custom glyphs for the HBO Max logotype as part of its design system work.[3] The studio’s services for the project included custom typography alongside logo design, design strategy, graphic design, and animation.[2]
For the 2023 Max rebrand, DixonBaxi developed a bespoke typeface called Max Sans in partnership with type foundry F37. The geometric letterforms with elegant curves were designed to reference the curves in the Max logo and to unify the brand across applications.[7]
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