Moving the Mountain: Paramount Redesigns Logo for 100th Birthday

Posted by Mark J. Miller on December 15, 2011 02:10 PM

Paramount Pictures turns 100 in 2012, but it’s getting the party started this week.

When the studio’s latest blockbuster — Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, starring Tom Cruise — opens on Friday in IMAX theatres (and everywhere else on Dec. 21), observant moviegoers may notice that the studio branding has had a little work done, which some might miss as they turn off their phones or tear open their Junior Mints.

Paramount’s famous mountain logo has been redesigned, adding “100” at the center in honor of its upcoming centenary. According to its press release,

"The studio’s first logo, a symbol of a rugged, snow-covered peak from the Wasatch mountain range, was created in 1916. The 100th Anniversary logo was created by Devastudios, Inc. Paramount will use the (new) logo throughout its centennial year in 2012. Beginning in 2013, the wording about the 100th anniversary will be removed from the logo, with the rest of the design remaining in use."

Entertainment Weekly points out that the original semi-circle consisted of 23 stars back then while the new centenary logo only has 22. (Perhaps one was whacked when the studio released The Godfather?)

EW also notes that the number of stars increased to 24 when the logo was redesigned in the 1950s. Paramount says the stars “represent the first 22 actors who were contracted with the studio during the old studio system days,” though that doesn’t explain the changing numbers.

The studio, famously, played up the logo in the Indiana Jones films of the ’80s and early ’90s. Each film in the franchise opened (as you can see here) with a shot that echoed the logo's iconic mountain shape that matches the logo (whether it was a Peruvian peak or a mound of dirt being shoved around by prairie dogs) before whisking the viewer into the movie's action.

Commenters on Deadline.com were mixed about the logo, with some feeling it's too small and that the sun is distracting. Your thoughts? Post them below.

The original logo used a portion of the background scenery to complete itself, with the most important aspect of the logo, the name “Paramount” placed slightly above the peak of the mountaintop. The moment chosen to present the logo is just after the sun has set. The sky is dark and duster, with the warm, red (rose tureen?) rays of the sun reflecting off the distant clouds. The clouds on the lower left hand side appear slightly stormy. The two main elements of the original logo are the name “Paramount” and the mountaintop majestically rising out of the turmoil of clouds below. The ring of white stars emphasizes where the eye of the beholder should concentrate their attention and matches the white letters used in the name, and light reflecting off the snowcapped plane of the mountaintop. In all, the three primary elements and their proportions work nicely together, complementing one another to create a memorable logo. The tagline “A VITACOM COMPANY“ is almost completely lost in the varying shades of the mountain and is obviously not that important.

The new centennial version of the logo, places the eye of the beholder much further back from the original mountaintop, exposing a mountain range in the distance and reducing the size of the three main elements of the original logo: name, mountaintop and ring of stars. I might be reading too much into this new background, but the mountain range could represent the competition, which Paramount towers above? My first impression was that a raising sun of morning representing a more optimistic view of the world was the goal behind the brighter colors of the background. Although, at second glace the timing of the scene is just BEFORE sunset, with the white/yellow sunrays and the light blue sky playing a much more visual role then in the original logo. It’s definitively not morning; still the fresh and lively colors are less sinister then in the original logo. The company name “Paramount” is shown in grey tones, as if it were in the shadow of the sun, combined with it’s reduced size; its importance has been deemphasized. The amount of light reflecting off the peak of the mountaintop has also been reduced. This could be the result of global warming, a view of the same mountain during the summer or an effort on behave of the artist to also de-emphasize another of the main elements of the original logo? The timing of the scene places the side of the mountain facing the viewer in the shadow of the setting sun. The main element of the new logo, the centennial “100 Years” does not compete with the varying shades of the mountain as much as the tagline did in the original logo. Still, the sun becomes the second most memorable element in the new logo, with the name, stars and mountaintop losing emphasis. Looking at the logo from this perspective, the wider viewing range was probably chosen to reduce the dominance of the sun. In conclusion, the new logo is an elegant way of presenting a huge milestone in the history of the company and at the end of 2012, a newer version of the original logo can be created emphasizing “Paramount” again.

Hayden Hughes says:

Does seem a little cluttered, but hey, it's a heck of a lot better than the old logo.

December 15, 2011 06:58 PM #

S. Hitch says:

Really? Seems so distant and remote, fading into the sunset...

December 16, 2011 01:08 AM #

William Bach says:

December 16, 2011 03:59 AM #

slow hand says:

Wow! I didn't know you can say so much about a logo change...

December 16, 2011 08:23 AM #

Jaime BB says:

The new logo has lost the impact and essence of the brand we know as Paramount. When I look at the new logo I think "Who's that in the distance" as if it is trying to be meek or subtle in it's message rather than confidently coming out and communicating, we are proud of our 100 year history as a leader in film and movie industry. I'm also struggling to understand the rational behind changing the name and iconic circle of stars to a dark charcoal gray. I much prefer the first and would have suggested to only redesign the typography to include 100 years. What do they say, if it's not broken don't fix it.

December 16, 2011 05:19 AM #

lorediaz says:

Being a film company, it is great that they use such a beautiful scenery to show their logo. A much more discrete logo because they already are "PARAMOUNT PICTURES" The "100" is the brighther of the text and that is what matters right now. What happens on 2013 we'll see. Congratulations Paramount!

December 16, 2011 09:37 AM #

Steve Gallagher | Tugboat Group says:

Redesign? That looks like an edit to me.

December 16, 2011 01:06 PM #

Spencer says:

From those 2 pictures the above critiques have some base - but when you see this in Context - I.E. on an Imax screen - its just amazing. I got to see the Mission Impossible premiere this week and its not a small off in the distance logo, but its not in your face either like their old one. Nice job Paramount.

December 16, 2011 02:30 PM #

Ken Howard says:

The logo really misses for me. Aside from the obvious difficulty of reading the name of the company, the logo doesn't capitalize on the considerable legacy value of the brand. As a viewer I want to appreciate the history of the company but I also want to look forward and think about the newness of their potential and their ability to stay relevant. The logo doesn't convey this value proposition and seems to convey a feeling that the company is getting lost in the noise of new media.

Even photographically, I search for the focus of the image and what message is being conveyed. It's a missed opportunity.

December 16, 2011 09:01 PM #

Margaret says:

This was a dis-improvement as portrayed in the small images above, losing vitality, vibrance, color, clarity of wording into a faded-out space of small pieces. For a redesigned logo, one would think the new was the old one, and that the old one was the new, bolder, more passionate one!

The comment above about i-Max theaters, though, makes a strong point. I have not viewed the logo on the big screen, where I might also enjoy the richness and subtleties of the new design without its being "in my face." This just illustrates that we shouldn't be too hasty in our judgments!

December 16, 2011 10:34 PM #

Awlad Hossain says: