The History of and Story Behind The Indeed Logo

The logo for the job search company Indeed, at first glance, may seem simple and straightforward. However, there is much more that lies behind its simple iteration. To fully understand the thought that has gone into the development of the logo and its meaning, we must first know the history and purpose of the company itself. Here is everything that we have learned about the history of and story behind the Indeed logo.

The history of Indeed

Indeed is the creation of two partners named Paul Forster and Rony Kahan. In 2004, an office was set up in Stamford, Connecticut for the human resource teams, client services, finance, and company sales. Product development staff worked out of the Austin, Texas-based office. By 2005, the beta version of Indeed was launched as a job advertising network in the pay per click genre. Indeed established its employment website providing job listings worldwide.

Indeed received a round of investments from Union Square Ventures, The New York Times, and Allen & Company for $5 million in startup and expansion support. Recruit Co. Ltd. acquired Indeed as a subsidiary on October 1, 2012. This was one of many steps in a multiphase move. The result was the acquisition of the main competition of Indeed, Simply Hired. The entity served as Indeed's publishing partner in 2016. Indeed remains an independent operating unit of Recruit Co. Ltd. of Japan. Indeed has since acquired a recruiting platform called Syft at the end of May of 2019, followed by the acquisition of ClickIQ that is a company specializing in automated job advertising technology in the UK. Indeed is a company that has expanded its services to more than 60 countries throughout the world. It is available in 28 languages and has become the United States' highest-traffic job website, exceeding the previous leader Monster.com. The primary focus of Indeed is to help people get jobs. They do so in an online platform, according to the CMO of the company. Indeed recently launched its first global marketing campaign.

The Indeed logo

Indeed press releases do not focus on the simple logo that has been developed to represent the branding of the company. While some businesses emphasize their descriptions and the meaning behind their logos, this is not an avenue that the owners of Indeed pursue. We learned that the simple logo is not currently registered for copyright protection because it does not meet the necessary threshold of originality. This means that the logo remains free of any copyright restrictions and is still in the public domain classifications. This is because the image for the logo is made up of text and only simple geometric shapes and there is little that distinguishes it from other logos. The only restrictions that apply are the unique fonts and typefaces, according to Wikipedia.

What fonts are used for the Indeed logo?

Fonts Logo staff attempt to describe the unique font that is used for the Indeed logo. Without any explanation from the company, it's difficult to assign any intended meanings or rationale for the use of the font, or the symbolism, but it is obviously a customized version of a Seconda Round Bold font. This is the closest font that you can get to describing the font. Those who are looking for a free downloadable alternative to this font are pointed towards the free version that is closest called the Nunito-Regular Font designed by Ben Blom.

Analysis of the Indeed logo

It's difficult to understand why the marketing team has not addressed the development of the Indeed logo or discussed the reason for its unique styling. Although content from the Indeed website pages talks about the importance of a company's logo, they have failed to provide a history of their own logo. We do not know who the author of the logo is, or if it is a team effort created by a marketing agency. This leaves us to do our own independent analysis with little more than the background on the company and our knowledge of marketing strategies.

Physical appearance

When we look at the logo, the first thing that stands out is the softness of the font and the light blue color. These immediately stand out and get your attention. The name of the company is presented in a bold font with all lowercase letters. The wordmark is printed in bright light blue against a stark white background. There is a curved semi-arc over the first letter in the name of the company that draws attention to the name, which is a registered trademark. Below the name of the company, in all lowercase letters in a smaller typeface, the words one search. all jobs. appear in black print. The logo and slogan included are succinct, direct, and to the point. This creates the sense that the company is no-nonsense and focused on helping clients search among all available jobs period.

The blue coloring of the font with the white background evokes a sense of trustworthiness and a sharp focus on attending to the matters at hand. The rounded font for the company name is on the whimsical side, but the slogan below has a more direct vibe. The black color of the lower part of the wordmark is sophisticated and business-oriented.

Final thoughts

Indeed has not made a big deal of its logo nor drawn any particular attention to it. When we look at the success that the business has achieved in its 16 years of existence, there really hasn't been an urgent need to employ more stringent marketing strategies. They provide an essential service for people around the world. The simple logo is one that is easily recognized, although not protected through copyright. The owners of Indeed seem to be okay with this. There are several dozens of versions of the logo out there because of its lack of copyright protection. The exact name of the customized font or its author is still unknown. It has served its purpose in becoming a recognizable symbol of the massive online job search instrument that helps connect users with job opportunities.