Universal Pictures was founded on April 30, 1912 as The Universal Film Manufacturing Company or simply Universal Films.
1913–1914
1913
In 1913, Universal began using the now iconic globe design. However, as this logo was experimental, it would suffer drastic modifications between each year.
1913–1914
1914
A year later, the globe design was given more detail and a space background was added to it. In addition, the byline and the ring were removed.
1914–1918
1914–1919
From this point Universal's on-screen logos began to be more faithful to their corparate logo.
Universal Pictures (first era)
1922–1927
In 1922, the studio was renamed Universal Pictures. The globe design was brought back, but it was shown against a sky background rather than the original space version. The lettering was also changed to surround it. This logo also features a skywriting biplane that flies around the globe.
1927–1933
In 1927, Universal stopped the trend of making logos similar to their corporate, thus the logo was redesigned to be a live-action model with the text "It's a Universal Picture" stamped to it (similar to the 1912–1914 logos). This appeared mostly as an end card.
1933–1936
This logo variation reintroduces the airplane orbiting the globe.
1936–1947
In 1936, The words A Universal Picture were changed to circle around the globe. There is a colorized version of this logo, which can be seen on colorized prints of films originally produced in black and white. There is a remade and colorized version of the logo, seen in the director's cut of The Wolfman (2010). In 2024, it used the 2012 camera animation of the logo with the Comcast byline in Wicked.
Universal-International
1947–1960
In 1946, the studio was renamed to Universal-International until 1963. Since 1953, both logos, as well as the rest of the title sequences, are presented in an open-matte version, unlike previous films, as with many other post-1953 theatrical productions. This may have been to enable cropping for matted widescreen presentation in the movie theaters as an attempt to compete against the growing popularity of television.
1954–1960
With the introduction of the CinemaScope format in 1954, they made the globe smaller and the words Universal International bigger.
1960–1963
The words have a less shadowed effect and the registered symbol appears alongside it.
Universal Pictures (Second Era)
1963–1990
1963–1965
Designer:
Eyvind Earle (design) Universal Title and Optical
Typography:
Futura Bold
Launched:
December 5, 1963
In 1963, the studio was renamed back to Universal Pictures. The logo consists of a globe with two Van Allen belts. On the bottom left, it has Edward Muhl's name on it. On some occasions, it also has the text "A UNIVERSAL RELEASE" for movies produced by other studios which Universal distributed. This debuted on Charade, the logo became the longest in the picture's history.
1965–1971
In 1965, Edward Muhl's name on the bottom left was removed.
1971–1990
Designer:
Eyvind Earle (design) Universal Title and Optical
Typography:
Futra Bold (logo) Eurostile Bold (byline)
Launched:
December 5, 1971
In 1971, the "A" and "PICTURE" text were removed, and a byline was added, reading; An MCA Company. Bird on a Wire was the final movie to use this logo.
Universal Primary (modified version of Copperplate Gothic)
Launched:
May 25, 1990
In 1990, the logo was redesigned yet again by The Chandler Group and Studio Productions (now known as Flip Your Lid Animation), the same animation agency that made the 1986–2002 Paramount Pictures logo and the 1994–2010 20th Century Fox logo, along with a background painted by Eric von Schmidt for the studio's 75th anniversary. To explain the wordmark, the company at the time only traced its beginnings back to the opening of its studio in 1915 (Universal's actual 75th anniversary was in 1987). The theatrical logo began with clips of the 1927-1936 and 1936-1946 movie logos and the previous logo, respectively before it segued into the 75th anniversary logo complete with a majestic orchestral fanfare by James Horner. The logo was made using CGI compositing and models filmed with motion control. It made its debut on Back to the Future Part III and made its final appearance on A Kiss Before Dying.
Universal Primary (modified version of Copperplate Gothic)
Launched:
May 22, 1991
It's the same logo but the 75th Anniversary disclaimer is removed and the (R) (registered symbol) is larger. It made its debut on Backdraft and made its final appearance on McHale's Navy, which follows MCA's rebranding to Universal Studios. It later made a surprise appearance in The Little Engine That Could and The Thing in 2011 then in F9 in 2021, albeit using the Comcast byline.
In 1997, the logo was updated with a more advanced CGI animation, designed by Identica Partnership and animated by Picturemill. Also, the logo had a new, majestic orchestral fanfare, composed by Jerry Goldsmith. It made its debut in The Lost World: Jurassic Park, although trailers and TV spots used the previous logo.
In 1998, a URL was added, and it reads www.universalstudios.com. This was still seen at the beginning and end of UK VHS tapes from 1999 to 2005.
1999–2012
In 1999, the Universal City Studios copyright stamp was removed, leaving just the logo and the URL. This variant was used on most UK widescreen DVD releases between 1999-2012.
In 2002, the logo was slightly modified, making the colors more vivid, the textures more detailed, and the font of the URL changed to Geneva. This logo was remade by Picturemill and first used in The Wedding Date, released in 2005.
In 2012, the logo was updated again but this time with an ever more advanced CGI animation designed by Wētā FX (the same design agency that made the 2006-2022 Walt Disney Pictures logo) and a re-orchestrated version of the previous logo's fanfare complete with a choir, composed by Brian Tyler, for the studio's 100th year celebration. Also, the former byline was changed to A Comcast Company. It made its debut on The Lorax, produced by Illumination Entertainment and last used in Mama.
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