Royal Dutch Shell

Shell logo preview:

Learn more about the Shell brand, find out the Royal Dutch Shell colors, and download a Shell vector logo in the SVG or PNG file formats. Find related logos and with similar colors.

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Brand information:

Website	Shell
Country	Netherlands
Industry	Energy

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The Shell logo features red and yellow colors:

This is a color scheme of Shell. You can copy each of the Royal Dutch Shell logo colors by clicking on a button with the color HEX code above.

Shell Oil Company is the United States-based wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell, transnational corporation “oil major” of Anglo-Dutch origins, which is amongst the largest oil companies in the world. Approximately 22,000 Shell employees are based in the U.S. The U.S. headquarters are in Houston, Texas. The current president is Bruce Culpepper, a graduate of the University of Alabama. Shell Oil Company, including its consolidated companies and its share in equity companies, is one of America’s largest oil and natural gas producers, natural gas marketers, gasoline marketers and petrochemical manufacturers.
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History of the Shell Logo

The Shell logo’s history traces back to the company’s founding by Marcus Samuel Junior, who established The Shell Transport and Trading Company. The name “Shell” was chosen for sentimental reasons, as Marcus Samuel Senior, who initiated the family’s Far East trade, imported seashells to decorate boxes. Initially, the logo featured a mussel, described as “charming rather than distinctive.” After four years, the more visually appealing scallop shell replaced it, undergoing only incremental changes over the next 60 years to maintain contemporary relevance.

By 1964, Shell sought to modernize its corporate image, feeling the 1961 design had become outdated. Four renowned designers were invited to propose updates: Yusaku Kamekura (Japan), Raymond Loewy (France), FHK Henrion (Great Britain), and Karl Gerstner (Switzerland). The goal was to create a consistent, versatile logo that could work across Shell’s global operations, from service stations to tankers and a wide range of products.

The new design had to be simple, reproducible, and adaptable to diverse contexts. Designers refined the shell’s geometry, removed the word “Shell” from within the symbol, and explored custom wordmarks and typefaces to enhance flexibility. While Gerstner and Kamekura experimented with bespoke typefaces, Loewy’s design introduced a bold, simplified scallop with a heavy outline, contrasted by a bright yellow interior. His solution also featured extended letterforms for the word “Shell,” ideal for wide applications like tanker trucks and signage.

The final design balanced flexibility and consistency, incorporating grids, color variations, and single-color options for greater usability. Loewy’s proposal was adopted and rolled out in 1971, with only minor updates in 1995 to adjust the colors. The logo remains largely unchanged, reflecting its timeless and effective design.

Shell’s iconic branding continues to stand as a testament to thoughtful and innovative corporate identity design.