Teva Pharmaceutical Industries is an Israeli-headquartered pharmaceutical company whose current corporate logo is a lowercase wordmark in which the letter “v” is formed by two stylized leaves. The company, which traces its origins to a small wholesale drug business founded in Jerusalem in 1901, adopted the name Teva in 1976, a Hebrew word meaning “nature.”[1]
Design and History
Teva introduced its current logo and visual identity in February 2018, launching the new brand in North America as part of a global rebranding effort.[2] The rebrand was driven by a desire to unify the company’s identity after decades of acquisitions had left it marketing products under multiple brand names, including Teva, Ivax, and Pliva in some markets.[3]
The new identity replaced a logo the company had adopted in the 1980s. According to Iris Beck-Codner, Teva’s EVP for corporate marketing excellence, the original brief for the old logo, found in the Teva archives, stated that the company wanted to be perceived as “authentic, sterile, and clean.” Beck-Codner noted that the old logo was “illegible in English” and that the world had changed, with people seeking “a more accessible relationship with the brand.”[3]
The new logo was designed to convey that Teva is “approachable and modern,” while improving legibility and recognition. The company selected a new shade of green for its visual identity, choosing a green that expresses “warmth, affinity, and action.”[4] The rebranding was based on research conducted from 2015 to 2017 involving more than 21,000 patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals across 20 countries.[5]
The rollout was phased globally. Teva launched the new brand in France, Russia, and Argentina before bringing it to North America in February 2018, with additional markets following throughout the year.[5] In October 2018, the company presented the new corporate brand in Ukraine.[6] The new logo began appearing on medicine packaging as existing supplies were depleted, with new packaging designs rolling out worldwide from 2019 onward.[7]
Meaning and Symbolism
The current Teva logo consists of the word “TEVA” in lowercase dark blue letters, with the “v” shaped as two leaves. Inside the leaves are four diamond shapes: the top diamond is neon green, the middle diamonds are teal and green, and the bottom diamond is dark blue.[8] A German pharmaceutical trade publication described the new logo’s “v” as evoking “two leaves or hands,” rendered in various shades of blue and green.[9]
The leaf motif connects visually to the company name’s Hebrew meaning of “nature.”[10] The trademark registration for the logo notes that the English translation of the word “TEVA” in the mark is “nature.”[10]
Typography and Design
The current Teva wordmark uses lowercase lettering in dark blue, a departure from the previous logo, which featured white uppercase letters with a green outline. The new design is described as “less static” than its predecessor.[9] The logo was designed to improve legibility and recognition compared to the earlier mark, which company executives said was difficult to read in English.[3]
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.
