What Is the Barbie Logo?
The Barbie logo is the name Barbie written in a flowing pink script, with a large looped capital B. It goes back to the doll's first logo of 1959, a pink calligraphic name. Mattel returned to it in 2009 after several redesigns.
Barbie is the fashion doll that Ruth Handler created for Mattel, the toy company she co-founded in Los Angeles in January 1945. The doll made its debut at the American International Toy Fair in New York on 9 March 1959.
The pink script is available as the Barbie logo SVG.
Barbie Logo Facts
| Introduced | 1959; brought back in 2009 |
| Symbol | None; the name in script forms the mark |
| Logo type | Wordmark: the name in pink script |
| Earlier mark | A white, outlined, slanting logo, used from 1975 to 1991 |
| Owner | Mattel, Inc. |
What the Barbie Logo Means
The script is a signature. Barbie was named after Handler's daughter, Barbara, and the doll was given a full name of her own, Barbara Millicent Roberts.
Writing the name by hand, rather than setting it in capitals, makes the logo read as if Barbie had signed it herself. It suits a toy sold as a character with a life of her own.
Pink has been part of the name from the start. The 1959 logo was bright pink on white, and every main version since has used a shade of it. So the colour has become as much a part of the brand as the letters.
Barbie Logo History
The Barbie logo began as a pink calligraphic name in 1959 and returned to that script in 2009. Handler based the doll on Bild Lilli, a German doll she bought in Switzerland in 1956.
| Year | Logo |
|---|---|
| 1959–1975 | A simple calligraphic name in bright pink |
| 1975 | A bolder logo on a diagonal, in white letters outlined in pink |
| 1991–1999 | A simplified version with a cleaner B and a muted, nude pink |
| 1999 | The cursive style comes back as one connected line |
| 2004 | bouncing letters, swirls on the B and a flower over the i |
| 2005 | The flower goes back to a plain dot |
| 2009 | The original 1959 script returns, with a drawing of Barbie's head |
The 1975 logo used white sans-serif letters with rounded, curly ends. It was outlined in bright pink and given pink-and-white shadows for a three-dimensional look. The 1991 version replaced the candy pink, and the 1999 script was tilted slightly to the right.
The 2009 return to the original script is the change that set the logo used since.
Warner Bros. Pictures' live-action Barbie film, released on 21 July 2023 with Margot Robbie in the title role, used logos of its own, with a loopy B in white on pink.
Barbie and Mattel
Barbie shares her maker, Mattel of El Segundo, California, with the toy cars behind the Hot Wheels logo. Mattel introduced Hot Wheels on 18 May 1968, nine years after Barbie did.
For more toy and media brands, browse our entertainment logos.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Barbie named after?
Ruth Handler's daughter, Barbara. The doll's full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts.
When did the Barbie logo first appear?
With the doll's launch at the American International Toy Fair in New York on 9 March 1959.
Why did the Barbie logo have a flower?
A 2004 redesign dotted the i with a flower. The flower was replaced by a plain dot in 2005.
Is the Barbie logo the same as in 1959?
Largely. In 2009 Mattel went back to the original 1959 pink script after a series of redesigns.