What Is the Ford Logo?
The Ford logo is the word Ford in flowing white script inside a blue oval, a badge known as the Blue Oval. It belongs to Ford Motor Company, the American maker of cars, trucks and SUVs that Henry Ford founded in Detroit on 16 June 1903.
The lettering dates from about 1906, and an oval first framed it in 1907. The script in the blue oval is available as the Ford logo SVG.
Ford Logo Facts
| Designer | Script credited to C. Harold Wills, Ford's chief engineer |
| Introduced | Script about 1906; oval 1907; blue oval on the Model A, 1927 |
| Symbol | The Ford script in an oval |
| Logo type | Emblem: lettering inside a blue oval |
| Earlier mark | A round crest reading "Ford Motor Co. Detroit, Mich." |
| Owner | Ford Motor Company |
What the Ford Logo Means
The logo is the company's name and little else. The firm carries its founder's surname, so the name itself became the mark. The script looks like handwriting, and many people take it for Henry Ford's signature. It is not. Ford's early chief engineer C. Harold Wills drew the lettering, reportedly working from a set of printing type rather than from his boss's autograph.
The oval gives the script a fixed frame, so the badge keeps the same outline whether it sits on a radiator, a steering wheel or a dealer sign.
Ford Logo History
Ford's first badge, in 1903, was a round crest with decorative vines around the words "Ford Motor Co. Detroit, Mich." Wills's script followed around 1906, and in 1909 the script was registered with the US Patent Office.
In 1907 Ford's British arm put the script inside an oval for the first time. In 1912 Ford tried something very different, a winged triangle printed in the Ford Times and in advertising, but Henry Ford disliked it and it was dropped. The same year the script in an oval began to identify Ford dealerships.
The blue oval as a car badge arrived with the Model A, which Ford introduced on 2 December 1927. The oval was used for the first time as both the corporate signature and the product badge in 1957, and in 1976 a new version became standard across the range. For the company's 100th anniversary in 2003, Ford introduced the Centennial Blue Oval, a dimensional version with a brighter blue. A flattened oval with white script appeared on the 2024 F-150.
The Logo Ford Turned Down
In 1966 Henry Ford II asked the American graphic designer Paul Rand to modernise the badge. Rand produced a modernist redesign, and Ford rejected it.
The blue of the oval is distinctive enough that Chevrolet moved all its models to a gold bowtie in 2004 partly to stand apart from it (compare the Chevrolet logo). During the Second World War Ford also built military jeeps and stamped its script into their rear panels (compare the Jeep logo).
For more brands like Ford, browse our car logos.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Ford logo Henry Ford's signature?
No. The script was drawn by C. Harold Wills, Ford's early chief engineer, around 1906, and it was not copied from Henry Ford's handwriting.
When did the Ford logo become a blue oval?
The script first appeared in an oval in 1907, and the blue oval became a car badge on the Model A, introduced in December 1927.
Did Ford ever try to replace its logo?
Yes. In 1966 Henry Ford II commissioned Paul Rand to redesign it, then rejected the result.