What Is the John Deere Logo?
The John Deere logo is a leaping deer inside a rounded frame, with the name JOHN DEERE beside or beneath it. It belongs to Deere & Company, the American maker of tractors, combines and construction machines, which grew from the steel plow John Deere built near Grand Detour, Illinois, in 1837 and is based in Moline, Illinois.
On farm machines the deer appears in green and yellow; on construction machines it is a yellow deer on black. The deer in its frame with the name is available as the John Deere logo SVG.
John Deere Logo Facts
| Introduced | 2000 (the deer first leaping upward) |
| Symbol | A North American white-tailed deer in mid-leap |
| Logo type | Combination mark: framed deer and the JOHN DEERE name |
| Earlier mark | The 1968 deer, drawn landing rather than leaping |
| Owner | Deere & Company |
What the John Deere Logo Means
Deere says its deer is modelled on the North American white-tailed deer. Through every redraw, the company says, the animal has stood for the same things: quality, integrity, humanity, innovation and commitment.
The direction of the leap carries the meaning of the 2000 version. Earlier deer were drawn landing; the new one leaps upward. Robert Lane, Deere's chief executive at the time, said the upward movement stood for a strong leap into the new millennium, and called the deer a symbol for a company "determined and energized to run fast and run smart."
John Deere Logo History
The deer was in use from 1873, but the company did not register it as a trademark until 1876, when the threat of fraud pushed it to protect the mark.
A second version was in use by 1910 and registered in 1912, carrying the line "The Trade Mark of Quality Made Famous by Good Implements." In 1936 the deer was given smoother lines so it was easier to stencil, inside a 12-sided border. In 1937, the company's centenary year, the logo was stripped back to the name, the deer and the city.
In 1950 the name was made darker and thicker, with the slogan "Quality Farm Equipment" inside the frame. By 1956 Deere was selling construction and forestry machines as well, so it dropped the farm slogan and let the name stand alone for the first time. The 1968 version turned the deer into a straight-sided silhouette that was easy to draw, narrowed the border and made the deer larger.
The July 2000 update was the first change in 32 years and only the eighth since 1837. Deere rolled it out gradually over about two years, and kept the slogan "Nothing Runs Like a Deere" and the green and yellow colours.
The Slogan Behind the Deer
"Nothing Runs Like a Deere" was written for John Deere's short-lived snowmobile line. According to Deere's archive, copywriter Bob Wright found the line among early headline ideas he had thrown in a bin. The snowmobiles were dropped, but the slogan came to be used across Deere's product lines.
For more brands like John Deere, browse our agriculture logos.
Frequently Asked Questions
What kind of deer is in the John Deere logo?
A North American white-tailed deer, according to the company.
When did the John Deere deer start leaping upward?
In 2000. Before that, every version showed the deer landing rather than leaping.
How many times has the John Deere logo changed?
The 2000 update was only the eighth change since the company was founded in 1837, and the first since 1968.
When was the John Deere logo first registered?
In 1876, although the deer had been in use since 1873. Deere registered it to protect itself against fraud.