Country of Origin: Denmark
Industry: Shipping/Logistics
I have to be honest, I thought this Danish shipping conglomerate was actually named MAERSK SEALAND, but in truth that's only one of their divisions. The Sealand was actually added after a merger in the 50's, but it makes sense that their name is less specific, as the brand is applied over multiple applications of logistics.
But yes, your exposure to this brand probably involves large 40-foot shipping containers, either on massive container ships at sea or secured by twistlock onto semi-trailer beds. It's one of those brand marks that instantly catches my eye when I see it. It is unique, it is memorable, and has a strong, masculine, industrial personality that announces itself rather loudly. But let's discuss why, in my opinion, it's a good logo.
HISTORY
First, there is some history to the Maersk branding solution. From what I have read, its principal founder, sea captain Peter Maersk Meller was on a voyage in the late 19th century. His wife Anna was accompanying him, and during a rough storm at sea she became very sick. Her husband feared she would die, but they were at sea and little could be done. But as the story goes, one night the Danish captain gazed up into the cloudy night sky, and he saw a brilliant star, its light fighting through the gale to his watchful eyes below. The star gave him hope that his wife would also weather the storm, and she did. As a result the star became a symbol for his seafaring business for years to come, remaining on the company's logo to this day.
The wordmark is a strong, bold sans-serif slab typeface, with strong horizontal bars and rounded corners. Eurostile comes to mind, but at quick glance I didn't find any information on its specific creation or selection. But it works, especially with all of that left-to-right movement through its middle. It also probably doesn't hurt that it's a rather foreign-looking word to the average American, which contributes to its standout nature.
But let's be honest, what really makes this thing pop is that icon. A rounded square in a very unique shade of icy blue houses a seven-pointed star that catches your eye and refuses to let it go. For me, personally, the HEPTAGRAM, a star with seven points, has this strange sense of imperfect symmetry. It's symmetrical, but it's not; it's balanced, but it isn't.
I can't remember where, but I seem to once recall reading that a seven-pointed star was selected to reference the seven continents of the world, inferring that Maersk is a truly global company that serves every continent on the globe.
It's just something you don't see every day. A seven-pointed star is horizontally symmetric, but not vertically. It is not CENTROSYMMETRIC, meaning it does not have a symmetric balance to its center point. We really don't think about it, but a standard star, such as one of fifty on the American flag, is no less symmetric than this. We tend to equate symmetry with even numbers, so perhaps it seems like it shouldn't work with five or seven, but it does have balance; just look at the distance between those outer points— each are perfectly spaced around the center. It's math magic!
What I always find myself drawn to when I see the Maersk star is that unique chevron shape our eyes create within the star. There's actually seven of them— you can "spin" that chevron around the center point of the star and it's going to be the exact same proportions every time. It's just such a strange, unique thing, this weird imbalanced-yet-perfectly-balanced urchin thing.
COLOR
Pantone 298 C (best match) • CMYK: 67/12/9/0
Yes, the color doesn't hurt either. It just seems to fit with the Scandinavian origins of the brand and its name as well, and it's certainly atypical of the standard blue we typically encounter in the civilized world around us. It's so unique, in fact, that when The Lego Company developed train and ship sets in conjunction with Maersk in Europe, it had to invent an appropriate color for their bricks and pieces to match it, which to this day is still known as "Maersk Blue." Look at the little figure's hat— isn't that great?
Maersk is one of those brands that just has this sort of industrial appeal. I look at that mark above and I imagine the spray of massive waves splashing across it somewhere in the middle of the North Atlantic during some howling storm. Its imagery is unique and clever and vaguely bizarre, and feels very much like a modernist take on something that has probably been attached to the business for a very long time.
What do you all think? Is it memorable? Do you find it interesting? Do you want to grab a compass and try to draw bizarre odd-numbered stars after reading this?
Sources include: 1000logos.net, wikipedia.net, brandpalettes.com