Amazon was originally called "Cadabra.com", but was renamed because it sounded like "cadaver". After that, they thought of names, such as "Awake.com", "Browse.com", "Bookmall.com" (because they only sold books), and "Relentless.com". They later decided on "Amazon.com".
Amazon.com
1995–1997
Designer:
Unknown
Typography:
Tahoma
Launched:
July 16, 1995
In 1995, Amazon.com was launched as an online bookstore. Its logo features a stylized river, harkening back to its namesake: the Amazon River.
1997–1998
Designer:
Unknown
Typography:
Times New Roman OCR-B
Launched:
May 1997
April–July 1998
Designer:
Joel Templin for Templin Brink Design
Typography:
Sackers Gothic Heavy
Launched:
April 1998
Only used for two months until being replaced with the 'swish' logo in July 1998. In 1998, Amazon.com began to expand beyond books by selling music and videos.
1998–2000
Designer:
Unknown
Typography:
Officina Sans Bold (amazon) Officina Sans Book (com)
Launched:
July 1998
Later in 1998, Amazon.com dropped the orange circle logo and replaced it with a new swish logo utilizing the Officina Sans font. In 1999, Amazon.com expanded even more to become a full-fledged online retailer.
On January 25, 2000, Amazon.com adopted a new logo similar to its existing one, but with the yellow-orange line replaced with an arrow resembling a smile that stretches from the "a" to the "z" (both as a smile and as an indirect metaphor for Amazon.com's wide selection of products).
On March 9, 2012, ".com" was dropped from the logo and the site officially became known as only Amazon. Despite being replaced in 2024, this logo was still used on their website for some time, and continues to appear within the logos of some subsidiaries that have yet to receive an update.
Amazon Sans (custom-designed, logo) Ember Modern (custom-designed, corporate)
Launched:
April 15, 2024 (soft-launch) November 1, 2024 (official)
On April 15, 2024, an updated logo for Amazon was revealed on an Amazon Live FAST channel promo on YouTube.[3] The smile was made slightly thicker and was changed to a deeper orange, and the "amazon" wordmark was slightly modified and changed to a dark bluish gray. A font based on the wordmark, Ember Modern, was created by type foundry NaN.
