Ixia was a network testing, visibility and security solutions company founded in May 1997 and headquartered in Calabasas, California. It operated as an independent public company until Keysight Technologies completed its acquisition of Ixia on April 18, 2017. [1] [2]
Design and History
Ixia’s visual identity centered on a wordmark of the company name in lowercase black letters. Above the first letter “I” sat a red slanted rectangle, and above the second letter “I” sat a blue slanted rectangle, as documented in the trademark registration filed in 2013 and registered in 2014. The registration explicitly claims black, blue and red as features of the mark. [3]
Ixia’s own brand guidelines, published in January 2016, described the logo as representing “the confidence and reliability of the company,” and characterized it as “friendly and inviting, yet strong.” The guidelines also explained that the blue and red dots in the logo symbolized the petals of Ixia flowers, which are native to South Africa. [4]
Throughout its independent operation, Ixia referred to its mark in press materials as the “Ixia four-petal logo,” a phrase that appeared in company announcements from at least 2008 through 2012. [5] [6]
Following the Keysight acquisition, the Ixia brand continued as a product line within Keysight’s network test division. The standalone corporate identity was gradually absorbed into Keysight’s broader portfolio, and the Ixia logo is now considered obsolete by logo archives. [7]
Meaning and Symbolism
The blue and red dots were designed to represent the petals of Ixia flowers, a genus of flowering plants native to South Africa. The guidelines further stated that the logo as a whole was meant to convey confidence and reliability while remaining friendly and inviting. [4]
The trademark registration confirms only that black, blue and red were claimed as color features of the mark, without assigning symbolic significance to each hue. [3]
Typography and Design
Ixia’s brand guidelines specified that clear space around the logo should be at least the x-height of the logo on all sides, with the x-height defined as equal to the height of the letter “x” in the logo itself. This construction detail is the only typographic specification documented in the company’s official brand materials. [4]
The trademark registration describes the wordmark as appearing in lowercase letters, with the slanted rectangles positioned above the two “I” characters. The white area surrounding the mark was noted as not being claimed as a feature of the mark. [3]
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