The Motley Fool is an investing and financial advice platform with a mission to make the world smarter, happier and richer. The platform has a devoted following of millions of users who rely on it to guide their investments. Pentagram has collaborated with The Motley Fool on a new brand identity that reflects the vibrancy, inclusivity and humor of the Foolish community. The refresh is the first significant update to the logo since The Motley Fool launched in 1993.
The Motley Fool works to make finance and investing advice accessible to everyone, helping them to invest for a better future, whether in their business, in the stock market, or in themselves. Since its launch, the platform has used a jester character named “Elvis” as the mascot for the brand. The new identity transforms Elvis’s jester cap into an iconic symbol for the brand. By focusing on the cap with the new logo, the platform hopes more people can imagine donning the hat and seeing themselves as Fools, too.
True to its name, The Motley Fool has always prized a spirit of foolishness. The platform’s moniker was inspired by a passage in Shakespeare’s “As You Like It.” The character of Elvis was originally created to represent the jester of yore who could, through humor, speak the truth to the king or queen. The symbol appealed to the anti-establishment brand as it sought to speak truth about Wall Street and level the playing field for all to invest and grow their wealth.
When creating Elvis, The Motley Fool had classic characters such as Shakespeare’s Touchstone and Will Sommers in mind—characters often portrayed as male and Caucasian. But the character of the jester can be found in many diverse cultures around the world, and the notion of using humor and good storytelling to spread truth is global.
The new visual language owns “Fool” and the jester cap in a positive way, building on the heritage of the brand to create a dynamic visual system for the platform and its various products, businesses and services. The identity simplifies the previous logo into a two-bell cap mark that is instantly recognizable as The Motley Fool. When combined with the wordmark, the jester cap creates a new face for Elvis—the double “o” in “Fool” becomes a pair of eyes, with the cap perched above. The cap and “Fool” can be used in combination or on their own, and the shape of the cap also doubles as a hidden “M” for Motley.
The wordmark, tagline and other typography are set in Hurme Geometric Sans 1, a clean, simple sans serif with a jovial look and feel. The letterforms have sharp corners and a tall x-height that helps improve legibility in print and digital. The identity also introduces a new color system enhanced for digital contexts. The new primary color palette is vibrant, energetic and contemporary, with the cap appearing in various color combinations for different Fool businesses and services.
