The international payment system MasterCard, which is one of the world leaders in its field, has changed its logo. The new logo was designed by the Pentagram agency.
The basis of the logo has remained the same, it has changed little since 1968. The same recognizable intersecting red and yellow circles, over time the changes were minor, in 1979 the name MasterCard appeared instead of Master Charge, in 1990 the font was changed.
Today's changes are also minor. They are mainly about simplification and show the desire for minimalism, also the colors and the shadow between the circles have become somewhat brighter. The most significant change is that now the name is written entirely in lowercase letters, the letter “C” is not highlighted, and the word “Card” has become less visible and readable. This emphasizes the decline in the importance of cards as a physical medium, because today payments are made without their help. In addition, MasterCard does not accept the cards themselves, but only provides the technology for their use. The company is betting on more modern payment methods, on digital technologies and logo changes came in handy.
The MasterCard payment system was founded in 1966 by the combined efforts of several American banks. Its original names were Interbank and Master Charge. The main goal of MasterCard was to create a counterbalance to the growing popularity of the BankAmericard system, today known as Visa.