Iconic Identities: Canadian National Railways
The story and evolution of the iconic CN Logo or Canada’s national railway identity
When you think about an iconic Canadian identity the first identity that might pop up in your mind is the Canadian National Railways logo. If it doesn't the CN logo is the perfect example of a timeless and true iconic identity. Read more to learn why it's iconic.
Rebranding the CN logo
n 1959, CN conducted a research study to find out what Canadians perceived of the CN brand. The findings turned out ugly. The perception Canadians had of CN was “old-fashioned, backward organization and hostile to innovation”. This wasn’t the reputation they wanted, and so the decision was made to innovate.
Who Designed the CN Logo
CN Logo Designer: Allan Robb Fleming
The mastermind designer behind the creation of the CN logo was Mr. Allan Robb Fleming. He was barely 30 years old when he sketched out the famous logo concept on an airplane napkin. Fleming described the concept as “the movement of people, materials, and messages from one point to another. It’s a route line that incidentally spells CN”. Fleming stated 17 years after the release of the identity that “this symbol will last for 50 years at least. I don’t think it will need any revision, simply because it is designed with the future in mind. Its very simplicity guarantees its durability.”
Allen Fleming was a brilliant designer and this insight into the methodology behind his futuristic approach to identity design proved to be true. The identity is just as strong as ever and is still recognized for simplicity and effortlessness design. It is in essence what makes an iconic identity design—simplicity guarantees durability.
CN Old Logo: “Old-fashioned backward organization and hostile to innovation.”
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The Logo Elements
The CN logo represents motion; this is achieved by the continuous flow between the “C” and “N”. The colour palette is one colour—it’s Pantone 485, a vibrant red. Although, in the brand guidelines they allow the logo to be switched out for black or white when needed, or when it can’t be produced in red.
Now you know about the evolution of the CN identity and how it’s iconic to Canadian heritage. In a nutshell, we discussed why CN rebranded, who created this iconic identity, and the key elements of the brand.
Tell us about some of your favourite iconic Identities. Leave us your comments in the section below.
Past Article comments
We recently redesigned and migrated all our blog content to a new website platform (Squarespace) and wanted to retain the comments shared over the years on the original article. Here are screenshots of the valuable insights and comments left discussing the iconic Tim Hortons brand identity.
The original article was published on September 14, 2012.
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