MegaFon is a Russian telecommunications operator whose visual identity has centered for more than two decades on a circular emblem depicting a human profile and three dots, rendered in green and, at times, purple. The mark was introduced in 2002 when the St. Petersburg company North-West GSM adopted the MegaFon name and became a federal operator.[1]
Design and History
The original 2002 logo was a circle divided into two fields. One part symbolized a person’s face, while the other depicted speech in the form of three dots.[2] The emblem was described as showing a person speaking into a telephone handset, with the green and purple circle and dots forming the profile and the speech.[3]
In 2007, ahead of its 3G launch, MegaFon restyled the logo. The “tablet” emblem became three-dimensional and the background turned green.[4] The company noted that the new logo would not fully replace the old one, and both versions would be used across different media.[4]
In September 2017, MegaFon announced a company-wide rebranding led by the Interbrand agency.[5] Interbrand refined the visual identity, introducing a “super sign” rooted in the MegaFon logo and updating the brand’s colors.[6] The agency did not change the logo itself but made the brand’s green and purple colors brighter and added the super sign: three dots, two green and one purple, that could be used separately in advertising.[7] The rebranding also introduced the slogan “MegaFon. Starts with you.”[6]
According to a 2021 industry report, the logo in the form of a human profile with three dots denoting speech has existed since 2002, with various restyling versions used since then.[1]
Meaning and Symbolism
The emblem’s two-part circle was designed to convey two aspects of the brand. One part represents a person’s face, and the other represents speech through three dots.[2] The green color was said to add rationalism, while purple added emotion, described as two shades reflecting two characters of one brand.[2]
MegaFon registered both colors as a trademark with Rospatent, the Russian patent office, under certificate No. 696846, one of the first color marks in the Russian registry. The registered shades were green Pantone 361C and purple Pantone 2603C.[2]
Typography and Design
Following the 2017 rebranding, the Interbrand team selected the GT Walsheim font with modifications for the brand’s Latin version. However, the Cyrillic version proved problematic, with forms that were harsh on the eyes. The digital agency ONY, tasked with adapting the new identity for digital platforms, made the case for a different typeface, Graphik, which was more functional for digital media.[5]
ONY also adapted the brand’s “corporate” green color for digital use. The original shade, which worked well in outdoor advertising and print, appeared too bright and signal-like in digital communications, making white text illegible. ONY found a “right” green that was similar to the Pantone shade used in outdoor advertising while providing a sense of reliability and comfort for long-term digital interactions.[5]
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