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Warner Bros. logo design evolution

Warner Bros.
logo design evolution

If you watch a lot of (older) movies you’ll notice that studio logos are generally quite consistent. The spinning globe of Universal, the Paramount mountain, the Warner Bros. shield, they’re all refined over time, but the basic premise has remained the same for decades.
All studios have their main logo that appears at the beginning of a film, but some occasionally use custom logos that reflect the theme of the movie. When I noticed that Warner Bros. does this a lot I wanted to find out how often this happened and what these logos looked like.

I couldn’t find a good overview with all logos gathered in one place, so I started to collect them myself, in 2009. Now, five years later, I think I have enough to paint a picture of Warner Bros logo design evolution.

During 90 years the Warner Bros. shield has undergone a series of refinements. Three variations reflect transitions in ownership (Warner Bros.-Seven Arts in 1967, Kinney in 1969 and Warner Communications Inc. in 1972). In 1984 Warner Bros. returned to the shield set over a background of clouds. The corporate names below the shield have changed over the years, but the logo has been a shield ever since.

Below the 13 main logos and 200+ (slightly) different variations. This page is about the evolution of the Warner Bros. logo. It’s about the big picture. I might add more detailed descriptions of some of the most remarkable logos (or series of logos) later.

Warner Bros. logo 1927Opening logo from The Jazz Singer (1927)

(1923-1929)

WARNER BROS. LOGO #1

Clash of the Wolves (1925) + Lady Windermere’s Fan (1925) + Don Juan (1926) + When a Man Loves (1927) + Old San Francisco (1927) + The First Auto (1927) + The Jazz Singer (1927)

The logo also appeared on intertitles and The End cards (both examples from The Jazz singer (1927)).
  • Lady Windermere's Fan (1925)

    LADY WINDERMERE’S FAN

    (1925)
  • Don Juan (1926)

    DON JUAN

    (1926)
  • Old San Francisco (1927)

    OLD SAN FRANCISCO

    (1927)
Warner Bros. logo 1931Opening logo from The Maltese Falcon (1931)

(1929-1934)

WARNER BROS. LOGO #2

The Public Enemy (1931) + The Maltese Falcon (1931) + I am a fugitive from a chain gang (1932) + Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933)
  • The Public Enemy (1931)

    THE PUBLIC ENEMY

    (1931)
  • Footlight Parade (1933)

    FOOTLIGHT PARADE

    (1933)
  • Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933)

    MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM

    (1933)
Warner Bros. logo 1936Opening logo from Bullets or ballots (1936)

(1934-1937)

WARNER BROS. LOGO #3

Dames (1934) + Captain Blood (1935) + The Petrified Forest (1936) + Bullets or ballots (1936)

  • Dames (1934)

    DAMES

    (1934)
  • The Goose and the Gander (1935)

    THE GOOSE AND THE GANDER

    (1935)
Warner Bros. logo 1941Opening logo from The Maltese Falcon (1941)

(1937-1948)

WARNER BROS. LOGO #4

Angels with dirty faces (1938) + Captain Blood (1935) + The Petrified Forest (1936) + Bullets or ballots (1936)

Steven Soderbergh shot The Good German (2006) as if it had been made in 1945. That’s probably the reason why the movie starts with a logo similar to this one.
  • The Big Sleep (1946)

    THE BIG SLEEP

    (1946)
  • Dodge City (1939)

    DODGE CITY

    (1939)
  • My Wild Irish Rose (1947)

    MY WILD IRISH ROSE

    (1947)
Warner Bros. logo 1948

(1948-1967)

WARNER BROS. LOGO #5

The logo first appeared on Key Largo (1948). During the early years the background consisted of painted clouds, later the logo was superimposed (without clouds). Three different cloud backgrounds have been used: two painted versions, one ‘live action’ version featuring real clouds. The “Presents” lettering below the shield is identical to the lettering of the previous logo.

Warner Bros. logo 1953Opening logo from House of Wax (1953)

(1953-1956)

WARNER BROS. LOGO #6

House of Wax (1953) + Three Sailors and a Girl (1953) + The Eddie Cantor Story (1953) + Crime Wave (1954) + The Command (1954) + The Boy from Oklahoma (1954) + Riding Shotgun (1954) + The High and the Mighty (1954) + Dial M for Murder (1954) + Them! (1954) + King Richard and the Crusaders (1954) + Dragnet (1954) + A Star Is Born (1954) + Track of the Cat (1954) + Battle Cry (1955) + East of Eden (1955) + The Sea Chase (1955) + Tall Man Riding (1955) + Mister Roberts (1955) + The McConnell Story (1955) + Rebel Without a Cause (1955) + Blood Alley (1955) + Illegal (1955) + Helen of Troy (1956) + The Animal World (1956)

This logo was also used on Ghost Ship (2002)

  • Hondo (1953)

    HONDO

    (1953)
  • The Eddie Cantor Story (1953)

    THE EDDY CANTOR STORY

    (1953)
  • Crime Wave (1954)

    CRIME WAVE

    (1954)
  • The Command (1954)

    THE COMMAND

    (1954)
  • The Boy from Oklahoma (1954)

    THE BOY FROM OKLAHOMA

    (1954)
  • Riding Shotgun (1954)

    RIDING SHOTGUN

    (1954)
  • Lucky Me (1954)

    LUCKY ME

    (1954) Movie
    Larger image
  • The High and the Mighty (1954)

    THE HIGH AND THE MIGHTY

    (1954)
  • Dial M for Murder (1954)

    DIAL M FOR MURDER

    (1954)
  • Them! (1954)

    THEM!

    (1954)
  • King Richard and the Crusaders (1954)

    KING RICHARD AND THE CRUSADERS

    (1954)
  • Dragnet (1954)

    DRAGNET

    (1954)
  • A Star Is Born (1954)

    A STAR IS BORN

    (1954)
  • Track of the Cat (1954)

    TRACK OF THE CAT

    (1954)
  • Battle Cry (1955)

    BATTLE CRY

    (1955)
  • East of Eden (1955)

    EAST OF EDEN

    (1955)
  • The Sea Chase (1955)

    THE SEA CHASE

    (1955)
  • Tall Man Riding (1955)

    TALL MAN RIDING

    (1955)
  • Mister Roberts (1955)

    MISTER ROBERTS

    (1955)
  • The McConnell Story (1955)

    THE McCONNELL STORY

    (1955)
  • Rebel Without a Cause (1955)

    REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE

    (1955)
  • Blood Alley (1955)

    BLOOD ALLEY

    (1955)
  • Illegal (1955)

    ILLEGAL

    (1955)
  • Sincerely Yours (1955)

    SINCERELY YOURS

    (1955)
  • I Died a Thousand Times (1955)

    I DIED A THOUSAND TIMES

    (1955)
  • Helen of Troy (1956)

    HELEN OF TROY

    (1956)
  • The Animal World (1956)

    THE ANIMAL WORLD

    (1956)
Warner Bros. logo 1968Opening logo from Bullitt (1968)

(1967-1970)

WARNER BROS. LOGO #7

In November 1966, Jack Warner sold control of the studio and its music business to Seven Arts, Inc. The company, including the studio, was renamed Warner Bros.-Seven Arts. A new logo appeared on-screen: a simple animated W7. It first appeared during the title sequence of “Reflections In A Golden Eye.” Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear on the DVD of the movie. The earliest version I’ve been able to find is Chubasco (1967).

Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967) + Camelot (1967) + Chubasco (1967) + Countdown (1967) + Firecreek (1968) + Sweet November (1968) + Petulia (1968) + Finian’s rainbow (1968) + Bullitt (1968) + The Illustrated Man (1969) + Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969) + The Wild Bunch (1969) + The Rain People (1969) + The Valley of Gwangi (1969) + The great Bank Robbery (1969) + The Madwoman of Chaillot (1969) + The Arrangement (1969) + Once you kiss a Stranger… (1969) + The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer (1970) + Last of the Mobile Hot Shots (1970)

  • Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968)

    DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE

    (1968)
  • The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer (1970)

    THE RISE AND RISE OF MICHAEL RIMMER

    (1970)
Warner Bros. logo 1971Opening logo from THX 1138 (1971)

(1970-1972)

WARNER BROS. LOGO #8

In 1970 Kinney Services bought the company and changed its corporate name to Warner Communications. The new logo, a stylized shield containing a beveled W and B, first appeared during the opening credits of “Dirty Harry” (1971). This version of the WB logo is quite hard to find. It’s either cut from DVD/BluRay releases or ‘plastered’ with a more recent version (like is the case with the ‘A Clockwork Orange’ (1971) blu-ray).

Chisum (1970) + There Was a Crooked Man… (1970) + Flap (1970) + THX 1138 (1971) + Billy Jack (1971) + The Omega Man (1971) + Dirty Harry (1971) + McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971) + The Cowboys (1972)
Warner Bros. logo 1972Opening logo from Deliverance (1972)

(1970-1972)

WARNER BROS. LOGO #9

A logo without clouds or WARNER BROS. PICTURES banner. This logo was only used for eight months. It’s often ‘plastered’ with a more recent logo on DVD’s.

Portnoy’s Complaint (1972) + The Candidate (1972) + Deliverance (1972)
Warner Bros. logo 1973

(1972-1984)

WARNER BROS. LOGO #10

Logo designed by Saul Bass. There were three versions: black on red, red on black and white on black.

The logo also appeared on Magic Mike (2012) and Argo (2012); a modified version was used for Joker (2019).
Warner Bros. logo 1984Opening logo from Gremlins (1984)

(1984-1997)

WARNER BROS. LOGO #11

Very similar to the 1948 logo, featuring the same shield and clouds.
Warner Bros. logo 2011Opening logo from Lethal Weapon 4 (1998)

(1998-2019)

WARNER BROS. LOGO #12

A more ‘digital’ looking revitalization of the previous logo, featuring a new font. The “75 YEARS Entertaining The World” byline only appeared in 1998. The surface and color of the shield and clouds have slightly changed over the years.

Other custom 75th anniversary logos: Jack Frost + Quest for Camelot
Warner Bros. logo 2011Opening logo from The Rite (2011)

(2011-2019)

WARNER BROS. LOGO #13

This version only appears on New Line Cinema releases.
It’s the same design as the previous version, only this one breaks into pieces. While the camera pans to the right, some elements transform into the New Line Cinema logo.

The Rite (2011) + Horrible Bosses (2011) + New Year’s Eve (2011) + Jack the Giant Slayer (2013)

A Christmas/winter themed version appeared at the beginning of A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas (2011).
Warner Bros. logo 2011Closing logo from Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)

(2019-    )

WARNER BROS. LOGO #14

A simplified shield “to perform across various platforms and scales, from the small spaces of the digital world to giant installations like the iconic water tower on the Warner Bros. studio lot.”

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ABOUT ME

My name is Christian Annyas.
Between my morning coffee and evening movie I design websites. Like the one you're looking at. I could do yours too.
You can contact me here, or take a look at my work

ABOUT THIS PROJECT

I've seen a lot of movies over the years. To prove I've sat through at least the first ten minutes of them I started making screenshots of the titles. Then my computer crashed and I almost lost them all. To save them for future generations I created this little website.