You’ve definitely seen the "Ex" hidden in the white space of the current FedEx logo. It’s the ultimate "I was today years old when I found this out" piece of trivia. But before that legendary arrow existed, there was the federal express old logo, and honestly, it looks like it stepped straight out of a 1970s political campaign. It’s loud. It’s colorful. It’s extremely "disco-era corporate."
When Frederick W. Smith started Federal Express in 1971, he wasn't just launching a delivery company; he was trying to create a whole new industry. Back then, people didn't ship things overnight. If you wanted a package across the country, you put it on a slow-moving train or a rickety truck and hoped for the best. Smith’s vision required a brand that felt official, patriotic, and—perhaps most importantly—trustworthy enough to handle the government contracts he was chasing.
The Federal Express Old Logo: A Design Born from Necessity
The original logo, which lived from 1971 until the big rebrand in 1994, was designed by the firm Richard Runyon Design. Look at it closely and you’ll see the color palette is basically the American flag on a sugar high. It used a vibrant combination of red, white, and purple—though some people remember it as a deep blue. Actually, that "blue" was often a very specific shade of purple meant to look authoritative yet distinct from the standard navy used by the U.S. Postal Service.
The layout was simple. The word "Federal" sat on top in a bold, slanted font, with "Express" tucked underneath. The words were tilted at a sharp diagonal angle, meant to imply speed and forward motion. It wasn’t subtle. It was the visual equivalent of someone shouting "We’re going fast!" through a megaphone.
Why the Colors Mattered More Than You Think
Choosing those specific hues wasn't an accident. Frederick Smith deliberately chose the name "Federal Express" because he wanted to associate his startup with the Federal Reserve. He hoped the name would give the brand an air of government-level reliability. The federal express old logo doubled down on this. By using the red and blue/purple scheme, the company looked like a quasi-government agency.
This was a brilliant bit of psychological marketing. In the early 70s, the public trusted the "Federal" brand. Smith wanted people to feel like their packages were being handled with the same security as a bank transfer or a sensitive government document. Eventually, though, the name became a bit of a mouthful. Drivers and customers started shortening it. People didn't say, "I’m going to send this via Federal Express." They just said, "I’ll FedEx it."
The Tilt and the Typography
The font used in the federal express old logo was a customized version of a bold sans-serif, likely influenced by the popularity of Univers or Helvetica at the time, but with a lot more "chunk." Everything about it was heavy. Unlike the sleek, refined lines of modern tech companies, this logo was a heavyweight. It had to be visible on the side of a massive Dassault Falcon 20 jet or a delivery van idling in a dark alley.
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The diagonal slant—that 15-degree tilt—was the only "tech" thing about it. It suggested that the company was literally leaning into the future. It’s easy to forget how radical "overnight delivery" was in 1973. When the company began operations on April 17, 1973, they only moved 186 packages across 25 cities. The logo had to do a lot of heavy lifting to make those 186 packages feel like a nationwide revolution.
The Transition to the "Hidden Arrow" Era
By the early 1990s, the world had changed. The federal express old logo was starting to look, well, old. It felt bulky. Also, the company was expanding globally. While "Federal" sounded prestigious in the United States, it didn't always translate well in other countries where "federal" might imply a bureaucratic or even a police-state vibe.
In 1994, the company hired Landor Associates to fix things. This is where the story gets really interesting for design nerds. Lindon Leader, the senior design director at Landor, was tasked with creating something that felt modern but kept the brand's soul.
He spent months looking at over 200 designs.
The breakthrough came when he realized that by pairing a specific uppercase "E" with a lowercase "x," a natural arrow formed in the negative space. But to make that arrow perfect, he had to blend two different fonts: Univers 67 and Futura Bold. He literally hand-clipped the characters to make them fit.
When he showed the new, simplified "FedEx" logo to the board, most of the executives didn't even see the arrow at first. But once they did, they couldn't unsee it. That’s the hallmark of great design. The federal express old logo was about telling you what the company did through literal slants and patriotic colors; the new logo showed you what the company did through a clever visual metaphor for precision and speed.
The Problem with "Federal"
As the company grew, the word "Federal" became a liability. In some international markets, people were confused. Was it a US government agency? Would it be stuck in customs longer? By shortening the brand to "FedEx," the company embraced the nickname the public had already given them.
The transition wasn't cheap. Replacing the federal express old logo involved repainting over 600 aircraft and 30,000 ground vehicles. You don't just "swap out" a logo when you're a global logistics giant. You launch a multi-year logistical campaign that costs millions.
Technical Details Collectors Care About
If you're into vintage memorabilia, the federal express old logo is a goldmine. Because the company struggled so much in its early years—legend has it Smith once took the company's last $5,000 to Las Vegas and turned it into $27,000 at the blackjack table to pay the fuel bill—items from the 70s are somewhat rare.
- The Uniform Patches: Early driver uniforms featured the slanted logo in heavy embroidery. The thread count was high, and the purple was often closer to a burgundy or "wine" color depending on the manufacturer.
- The "Falcon" Branding: The early planes had "Federal Express" written across the fuselage in a massive font. The "F" in Federal usually lined up with the front door of the jet.
- The Color Codes: If you’re trying to replicate the old look, you’re looking at something close to a Reflex Blue (which often printed as purple) and a standard Fire Engine Red.
There is a certain charm to that old branding. It represents an era of "brute force" entrepreneurship. It wasn't about being "disruptive" in the Silicon Valley sense; it was about buying planes, hiring pilots, and convincing the world that distance shouldn't dictate time.
Why We Still Talk About the Old Branding
We talk about the federal express old logo because it represents one of the most successful rebrands in history. Usually, when a company changes its logo, everyone hates it. Remember when Gap tried to change their logo? Or when Tropicana changed their orange juice carton? People revolted.
FedEx is the exception. They moved from a cluttered, loud, 70s-style wordmark to a sleek, minimalist icon that actually contains a secret. It’s the gold standard of graphic design.
But the old logo shouldn't be dismissed as a failure. It did exactly what it needed to do for twenty years. It made a struggling startup look like a stable institution. It gave Fred Smith the "federal" gravitas he needed to survive the lean years when the company was losing a million dollars a month.
Common Misconceptions
A lot of people think the "arrow" was in the federal express old logo. It definitely wasn't. There was no hidden geometry in the 1971 version. It was just slanted text.
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Another common myth is that the colors were changed to orange and purple during the first logo's run. Not quite. The orange and purple "FedEx" palette was introduced with the 1994 rebrand. Before that, the red and purple/blue combo reigned supreme. The shift to orange was specifically designed to make the brand feel more energetic and less like a government bank.
Actionable Insights for Brand Owners
Looking at the evolution of this logo offers some pretty heavy lessons for anyone running a business today.
- Don't Fear the Nickname: Federal Express noticed everyone was calling them "FedEx" and they leaned into it. If your customers have a shorthand for your business, listen to them. They're doing your marketing for you.
- Trust and Authority First: If you're starting out and nobody knows you, use "boring" design cues that signal trust. The federal express old logo used patriotic colors and "official" sounding words because they needed to prove they weren't a fly-by-night operation.
- Negative Space is a Superpower: The move from the 1971 logo to the 1994 logo proved that what you don't see is just as important as what you do see.
- Scalability Matters: The old logo was hard to read from a distance when it was shrunk down. The 1994 version works on a tiny smartphone icon just as well as it works on the tail of a Boeing 777.
If you want to see the old logo in action today, your best bet is looking at vintage die-cast model planes or old training videos on YouTube. It’s a time capsule of an era where "overnight" felt like magic.
To truly understand the impact of this branding, take a look at your own business assets. Ask yourself if your logo is screaming "I am fast" (like the 1971 version) or if it's actually demonstrating your core value through clever design (like the 1994 version). Sometimes, you need the loud, clunky version to survive long enough to afford the sleek, clever one.
Next Steps for Researching Vintage Branding:
- Check the USPTO TESS database: You can look up the original trademark filings for Federal Express to see the exact black-and-white line art used in 1971.
- Search for "Federal Express 1973 Annual Report": These documents often feature the best high-resolution examples of how the old logo was used in corporate storytelling.
- Visit the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum: They occasionally have exhibits or digital archives featuring the original "Falcon" jets with the 1970s livery.