MasterCard introduces a new business logo design after 20 years

The brand which started off in 1966 as the Interbank Card Association (ICA) made an iconic change to its logo in 2016. Contrary to the belief that they just issue credit cards, they have various other functions including payment processing between banks and credit unions. They operate in over 210 countries and territories.

Why make this change now

The most distinctive feature of their old logo was the overlapping circles with a sans serif font and a flat drop shadow which was not very attractive. The new business logo design keeps the overlapping circles so that the basic framework stays the same. The old circles infused to form a distinctive orange color. The interlocking design was kept to save the cost of printing three colors.

The decision to change the logo was based on modernizing the brand and optimizing it for the web. They also wanted to make it simpler and communicate the message more clearly. Had they redesigned the new business logo design completely, they would deviate from equity buildup in the existing logo and brand identity.

MasterCard CMO,Rajamannar said:

"The MasterCard logo is recognized universally, there are 2.2 billion cards that carry the MasterCard logo. There are tens of millions of merchants worldwide that carry the MasterCard logo at the point of sale. The key for us is the equity in that logo—we have to leverage that going into the future."

The red and yellow color, interlocking circles and the name MasterCard itself are the main elements in the logo which they retained. One major change they were considering was removing the name and just keep the interlocking circles as that image is very famous and recognizable. However, Rajamannar said that they wanted to play safe and stick with the name in their logo.

Criticism of the new business logo design

Many have criticized that it looks like a toy version of the original logo. The update of the in new business logo design is trying to make MasterCard look like a tech company. There are more than 2.3 billion people who carry the company’s cards and many designers and users were disappointed as they felt like they are losing the brand identity they had for over 50 years. Change just for the sake may be good but it is not necessary. Some people even claimed that it looks more like a Venn diagram!

Justifying all these critiques, Rajamannar said that they wanted to signify the evolution of digital payment and try to keep it minimal, hence the change was necessary.

Search Marketing Experts is a US-based digital marketing company that has been providing digital marketing solutions to businesses in the United States for more than 15 years.