Intuit logo history: One of the most recognized software logos
Are you familiar with Intuit logo history? Over more than four decades, Intuit has become one of the most recognizable business software companies worldwide. As the brand has evolved, expanding its product portfolio, the Intuit symbol has changed too, becoming more refined.
At a glance, the Intuit wordmark might seem quite similar to the brand marks of many other software and technology brands. It’s a simple flat design, with no complex imagery or graphics. However, though this image may be straightforward, it’s steeped in greater meaning.
Like many companies, Intuit believes its logo is crucial to sharing its values and visions with the world. Today, we’re taking a closer look at the components of the Intuit visual brand identity, and why the image stands out in the modern landscape.
The Intuit symbol: Introducing Intuit
Before diving into our assessment of Intuit logo history through the years, let’s begin by introducing the Intuit brand. An American business software company, specializing in the financial industry, Intuit was first launched in 1983, by Scott Cook and Tom Proulx.
Cook’s prior work at Procter & Gamble showed him that personal computing solutions had the power to significantly improve accounting processes. He shared his ideas with Tom Proulx at Stanford University, and the “Intuit” brand was developed.
The name “Intuit” comes from the term used to define instinct or intuition. It highlights the company’s commitment to creating software solutions capable of enhancing employee productivity, and improving business intelligence.
Over the years, Intuit has become one of the most successful software vendors in the world. Despite some controversies with its “TurboTax” free service, Intuit has maintained significant operating revenue, earning approximately $14.37 billion in 2023 alone.
What is the slogan of Intuit?
Although Intuit doesn’t use a tagline on its logo design, it does share its slogan on its website, which is linked to its culture, corporate responsibility strategy and brand mission. The slogan for Intuit is “Powering Prosperity beyond Products”.
This phrase helps to emphasize Intuit’s focus on not just creating products for the software market, but developing solutions that assist businesses and individuals in achieving their financial goals.
Intuit logo history: Did Intuit change their logo?
Throughout Intuit logo history, there have been a number of significant changes to the company’s visual identity. While Intuit has always used its name in its brand symbol, the color palette, typography, and even the graphics used by the organization have evolved over time.
1983
The original Intuit logo introduced in 1983 is very different from the design we know today. The image featured a red wordmark, created in blocky, geometric text, with harsh squared edges, and short lines on the letter “T”.
The dark shade of red was intended to symbolize passion and vitality, as well as helping to distinguish Intuit from other tech brands at the time. This logo was also the only design created by Intuit to feature a unique graphic of a person, created in white space.
The person’s face has a square for an eye, with various other squares in the background, demonstrating intuition, thought, and instinct.
2008
In 2008, Intuit decided to simplify its logo, making a number of changes to the image. The red coloring was switched to blue, a shade more commonly associated with reliability and trust.
The typography was also altered. The geometric characters were replaced with simplified, thinner letters, featuring short serifs on the “N” and the “U”.
Perhaps the most interesting part of the logo is the circles placed above the two letter “T’s”. These transformed the characters into human shapes, referencing Intuit’s previous logo, and reminding customers of the company’s focus on serving humanity.
2022
In 2022, Intuit unveiled its most recent logo, as a part of a comprehensive brand refresh, which altered not just the company’s image, but its messaging too. Though the typeface was very similar to the one used in the previous design, the serifs were removed, to create a sleeker image.
The spacing between the letters also became more balanced, giving the image a modern and contemporary feel. Intuit retained its blue color palette, but the shade of blue was brightened, demonstrating the company’s focus on a fresh new future.
Intuit logo meaning: Behind the wordmark
At a glance, the Intuit logo might seem like a simple wordmark, but the company says the design is steeped in deeper meaning. In a blog post used to promote the new brand refresh, Intuit shared that its updated logo was intended to represent the ongoing advancement of the company.
Over the years, Intuit has expanded its product portfolio and service offerings, become a significant contender in the global financial technology platform space. The company retains its vision of “powering prosperity for the people”, and believes the new logo highlights this idea.
Intuit said its new logo, color palette, and typography choices showcase a modern approach to software development, as well as its commitment to exceptional customer service.
The color blue in the logo holds significant meaning, demonstrating not just reliability and credibility, but also a desire to deliver “fresh” solutions to consumers.
What’s more, the new font choice helps to align Intuit with other modern technology brands, allowing it to embrace the concept of simplification that has become so common in logo design.
The Intuit logo: Fonts and colors
The Intuit logo might seem simple, but it’s a powerful symbol of the company’s values. Intuit’s straightforward wordmark highlights the simplicity and intuitiveness of its products, as well as its commitment to delivering a reliable and trustworthy service.
The straightforward design also has an authoritative edge to it. Removing the circles above the T’s might have detracted from Intuit’s “humanistic” image, but it makes the company seem more professional.
You can find examples of the Intuit logo linked below:
What color is the Intuit logo?
The Intuit logo colors have changed a few times over the company’s history. Initially, the brand chose a dark shade of red, to represent vitality and passion. However, they quickly shifted to a blue color palette, a color more commonly associated with trust and reliability.
The current Intuit logo uses a slightly brighter shade of blue than the previous design. Notably, Intuit sometimes inverts its color palette, placing the word “Intuit” in white on a blue background. This aligns the company’s wordmark with other logos in the Intuit product collection.
What font does the Intuit logo use?
Just as the color of the Intuit logo has changed through the years, the font has evolved too. The company started with quite a blocky, geometric font, before opting for a simplified serif typeface. In 2022, the brand removed the serifs, choosing a more modern inscription.
The typography is unique to the brand, but there are various similar solutions, such as the Lolita Bold Fond, and the Avenir Next typeface.
Simple but effective: The Intuit logo
Examining Intuit logo history, we can see the technology company has made a number of changes to its brand identity over the years. As the organization evolved and moved into the new age of technical innovation, it has simplified and refined various aspects of its symbol.
The Intuit logo today is a beautifully balanced wordmark, with excellent use of white space, and a fantastically streamlined font. The blue coloring used in the design demonstrates Intuit’s commitment to fresh perspectives, reliability, and trustworthy service.
Though simple, Intuit’s logo helps to establish the brand as a leader in the technology industry, and a company with a strong focus on customer support.
Fabrik: A branding agency for our times.
As Fabrik’s creative director, Stephen oversees complex branding programmes. He advises our clients on their tone of voice, creates logos and visual identities and crafts names for companies, products and services. Writing for Brand Fabrik Stephen reflects his love for logo design and visual identity.
