What Is the Star Wars Logo?
The Star Wars logo is the title STAR WARS set in two stacked words of heavy black capitals, with the S and T of STAR and the R and S of WARS joined together. Art director Suzy Rice drew it in late 1976, and it first appeared on screen when the original film opened on 25 May 1977. The franchise belongs to Lucasfilm, the production company George Lucas founded in California in December 1971, which the Walt Disney Company has owned since December 2012.
The stacked title is available as the Star Wars logo SVG.
Star Wars Logo Facts
| Designer | Suzy Rice |
| Introduced | 1977 |
| Symbol | None; the two words of the title form the mark |
| Logo type | Wordmark: the title in stacked capitals |
| Earlier mark | Dan Perri's star-filled block capitals, used on pre-release posters |
| Owner | Lucasfilm Ltd. |
What the Star Wars Logo Means
Lucas wanted a title that would intimidate the audience, and he reportedly asked Rice for something that looked "very fascist". She studied German type design and built the letters from an outlined, modified Helvetica Black, so the words look solid, heavy and military. Joining the letters pairs turned two words into one compact block that holds together at any size.
The logo also had a job in the film itself. In the opening, the title shrinks away against a field of stars as if it were moving off into space, while the Main Title Theme begins and the crawl text starts to roll. A mark made only for posters would never have had to survive that shot.
Star Wars Logo History
The title went through several hands before the film opened. Storyboards by production artist Alex Tavoularis show an early three-dimensional logo that read THE STAR WARS.
In 1976 Lucas invited title designer Dan Perri to Industrial Light & Magic. Perri drew a skewed logotype of block capitals filled with stars, matched to the slanted perspective of the opening crawl. Lucas turned it down because it was hard to read. Perri's version never appeared on screen, but it was used on pre-release print adverts, cinema marquees and 1977 posters.
In late 1976 Twentieth Century Fox approached the Los Angeles agency Seiniger Advertising to promote the film. Suzy Rice, art director there at 22, was asked to design a brochure for cinema owners, and the logo she drew for it became the title. Producer Gary Kurtz found that it worked well in the opening shot and chose it for the screen, and the pointed tips of the W were flattened before the final cut.
Star Wars and Disney
Disney agreed to buy Lucasfilm in October 2012 and completed the deal on 21 December 2012, which put the Star Wars title alongside the Disney logo and, from 2009, the Marvel logo in the same company. For more franchises and studios, browse our entertainment logos.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who designed the Star Wars logo?
Suzy Rice, art director at Seiniger Advertising in Los Angeles, designed the logo in late 1976 for a brochure aimed at cinema owners.
What font is the Star Wars logo based on?
Rice built it from an outlined, modified Helvetica Black, joining the S and T of STAR and the R and S of WARS.
Why was Dan Perri's Star Wars logo not used in the film?
Lucas rejected Perri's star-filled block capitals because they were hard to read, though they did appear on pre-release posters and adverts.
When did the Star Wars logo first appear on screen?
On 25 May 1977, when the original film, later subtitled Episode IV: A New Hope, opened in cinemas.