American Tourister is a luggage and travel accessories brand founded in 1933 by Sol Koffler in Providence, Rhode Island, and acquired by Samsonite in the 1990s.[1][2] The brand describes its identity as “fun, colourful and on trend,” a positioning that has shaped its visual identity through several distinct logo generations.[2]
Design and History
The earliest American Tourister logo, seen in vintage print advertising, was based on a pair of stylized wings, a motif common among airlines and automotive manufacturers of the era. Later versions of this winged emblem replaced straight stripes with curved red and blue shapes.[3]
In 1946, the company introduced its own luggage identification tag, and the red-and-blue “butterfly wing” mark became a lasting symbol of the brand.[4] A trademark registered in 1982 shows a gorilla holding the American Tourister identification tag logo, referencing the brand’s famous “Gorilla” advertising campaign that launched in the 1970s and ran for 15 years.[5][2]
A significant redesign took place in 2014, when the logo became more minimalistic: the emblem was removed entirely and only the wordmark remained, set in large, single-color lettering designed for legibility at small sizes.[3]
In March 2019, Samsonite Korea unveiled a new American Tourister brand logo aimed at millennial consumers. The new logo was offered in 15 different colors, including rainbow hues, and used a more dynamic, vivid typeface intended to symbolize the brand’s boldness and sense of fun. The redesign also removed the oval border that had surrounded the brand name in the previous logo, an intentional change meant to express “the joy of travel toward becoming a new self.”[6][7]
In 2023, American Tourister underwent a further brand refresh as part of a larger marketing push targeting Gen Z travelers. The effort included updated brand guidelines and a complete overhaul of the brand’s typography.[8]
Meaning and Symbolism
The red-and-blue “butterfly wing” emblem, introduced in the 1940s, became the brand’s symbol for “reliable quality at a reasonable price.”[4] The 2019 logo redesign carried explicit symbolic intent: the removal of the oval border was described by the company as breaking down boundaries to express the joy of travel and personal reinvention, while the multicolor palette and dynamic typography were chosen to reflect the boldness and playfulness of the brand.[6][7]
Typography and Design
The 2019 logo introduced a more dynamic and colorful typeface compared to its predecessor, described by the company as “dynamic and vivid” and intended to symbolize the brand’s boldness and joy.[6] The 2023 brand refresh further overhauled all typography as part of updated brand guidelines.[8]
Logo Index is an independent educational archive covering logos, visual identities and graphic design history. All trademarks and brand assets remain the property of their respective owners.
