The ZEISS logo is a blue square containing the white wordmark “ZEISS,” with the square’s bottom edge replaced by a lens-shaped curve. The mark has been in continuous use since 1997, when the current dark blue replaced an earlier lighter shade [1].
Design and History
The current ZEISS logo is a direct product of German reunification. After World War II, the company split into two entities: Carl Zeiss in Oberkochen (West Germany) and VEB Carl Zeiss Jena (East Germany). Following the London Agreement of 1971, the two companies developed separate visual identities. Carl Zeiss in Oberkochen used only the ZEISS logotype in angular letters, and by the end of the 1970s the name was embedded in a square with “West Germany” added as a designation of origin. In Jena, the lens-shaped trademark was preserved until reunification [1].
After the two companies reunited in 1991, a new composite mark was created in 1993/94 for the Carl Zeiss Group. The design combined elements from both company logos: the square from the Oberkochen identity and the lens from the Jena tradition. The lens curve replaced the bottom straight line of the square, and the ZEISS lettering was modernized with rounded letters [1]. The German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA) confirms that the new joint word/figurative mark was created in 1993/94 and that the light blue was changed to today’s dark blue in 1997 [2].
The lens motif itself predates the current logo by nearly a century. In 1902, Emil Dönitz, head of the patent division of Carl Zeiss, designed a lens frame shape based on the rear element of the famous Tessar camera lens. The logotype was presumably created by the artist Erich Kuithan, who moved to Jena in 1903. The trademark was filed with the Imperial Patent Office in May 1904 and registered the following month. Starting in 1906, the lens mark appeared on nearly all devices and printed materials produced by Carl Zeiss [1]. The DPMA adds that the first trademark application was filed on 11 May 1904 and registered on 24 June 1904 [2].
The original lens trademark is still used in certain strategic business units to maintain intellectual property rights, for instance on brass plates showing production numbers of planetarium projectors [1].
Meaning and Symbolism
The current logo combines the square and the lens, two elements drawn from the separate identities of the East and West German companies during the division of Germany. The reunification of Carl Zeiss is reflected in today’s company logo, which merges the visual languages of both former entities [1]. The lens curve at the bottom of the square derives from the lens design motif that has been central to the brand since the early 1900s [3].
Typography and Design
The ZEISS brand color blue is officially defined as Pantone Reflex Blue C, with CMYK values of 100/80/0/0, RGB values of 020/030/140, and HEX code #141E8C. The ZEISS lettering in the logo must appear in white [4]. The current blue replaced the earlier, lighter blue in 1997 [1].
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