EarthLink is an American internet service provider founded in 1994 by Sky Dayton. The company grew rapidly during the dial-up era, and by 2000, after merging with MindSpring, it had become the second-largest ISP in the United States after AOL.[1] Over its history, the company has used several distinct visual identities, each documented through U.S. trademark registrations and contemporary press coverage.
Design and History
EarthLink introduced a new corporate logo in June 1998, when it completed its purchase of Sprint’s consumer internet business. Contemporary reporting noted that existing customers would not notice any changes “except for a new corporate logo.”[2]
A later wordmark-and-icon lockup is documented in a U.S. trademark registration filed in 2020. The mark consists of the word “EARTHLINK” in black letters to the right of an orange globe being orbited by a black circular object. Black and orange are claimed as features of the mark.[3]
In 2014 and 2015, EarthLink filed several trademark applications for a new icon-only design. One registration, issued in March 2016, describes the mark simply as “a globe being orbited.”[4] A related application filed in October 2014 provides a more detailed description: “a stylized globe being orbited and is comprised of one large circle encircled by lines depicting the orbit of a smaller circle.” Color was not claimed as a feature of that mark.[5]
In August 2015, a representative of EarthLink’s marketing department described the new identity on a public discussion forum, stating that the logo was designed “to honor our legacy and our values, while adopting a cleaner more modern look.” The representative explained that “the change to a circle represents the completeness of the solutions that we can offer, while the change to a gray colored cleaner font shows that we are a fresh company in the here and now.”[6]
More recently, a trademark application for the sub-brand “EARTHLINK BUSINESS,” filed in 2023, shows the wordmark in blue letters to the right of a blue globe being orbited by a blue circular object.[7]
Meaning and Symbolism
The globe-and-orbit motif is the most consistently documented element across EarthLink’s recent identities. The 2014 trademark filing describes the icon as “a stylized globe being orbited,” with one large circle encircled by lines depicting the orbit of a smaller circle.[5] The 2020 wordmark registration similarly describes “an orange globe being orbited by a black circular object.”[3]
According to the company representative’s 2015 statement, the circular form was intended to represent “the completeness of the solutions that we can offer.”[6]
Typography and Design
The 2015 redesign introduced a gray wordmark, which the company described as a “gray colored cleaner font” intended to signal a fresh, modern direction.[6] The 2020 trademark registration specifies the wordmark in black letters, while the 2023 “EARTHLINK BUSINESS” application uses blue lettering.[3][7]
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