Rossmann logo

Talking about customizing typefaces for logos: Like the new Yahoo wordmark, the Rossmann logo is based on Optima. More precisely, on Optima Medium, judging from the blunt apexes. The concave stems have been straightened and the terminals in ‘S’ sheared vertically. Such simplifications are common and advisable when one wants to tone down letterforms with calligraphic or otherwise fuzzy details for a logotype. They can’t be lumped together with illiterate modifications like the forced symmetry in the aforementioned case, or the infamous and ever-popular cutoff corners. Not to mention the fact that Optima is a much more appropriate choice for the cosmetics retailer than for the web giant.

The ‘O’ has been replaced with a centaur in a circle. This Greek mythological creature, which is half man and half horse, is a direct reference to the name: Ross is the German word for steed. All in all, it is a rather classic approach to logo design. Nothing groundbreaking, but properly executed and functional. The logo was introduced sometime in the late 1980s and didn’t have to be changed since. The slogan below (“My drugstore”) is set in Erik Spiekermann’s FF Meta.

Rossmann is Germany’s second largest health and beauty retailing chain. Founded in 1972 by Dirk Roßmann, the company now operates more than 2,700 stores in Germany, Albania, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Turkey.