Introduction

The FICO logo is the four capital letters of the company’s name in heavy blue sans-serif type. FICO is the brand of Fair Isaac Corporation, the analytics company behind the FICO Score, which was founded in 1956 as Fair, Isaac and Company by engineer Bill Fair and mathematician Earl Isaac.

The company adopted FICO as its public identity in March 2009, and the wordmark replaced an earlier logo that carried a star-shaped symbol.

What is the FICO Logo?

FICO wordmark in heavy blue capital letters with a registered trademark symbol

The FICO logo is an all-type wordmark in bold blue capitals, introduced when Fair Isaac Corporation began trading under the FICO brand in March 2009. San Francisco design firm Ammunition created the 2009 identity, and its logotype shortened “Fair Isaac Corporation” to the name customers already used.

FICO logo at a glance

Symbol None, wordmark only (capital letters FICO)
Designer/agency Ammunition (San Francisco), 2009; Brett Wickens named as creative director in a trade report
Current version since 2009 FICO wordmark; later colour or detail tweaks are not documented
Colors (hex) Blue, approx. #0A6DE6, sampled from the current logo; white on blue
Typeface Heavy geometric sans-serif, not publicly identified
Previous major version Fair Isaac logo with a star-shaped symbol, used until 2009

How Has the FICO Logo Evolved Over Time?

Fair, Isaac and Company became Fair Isaac Corporation in 2003, and in March 2009 the company started using FICO as its brand name, keeping Fair Isaac Corporation as its legal name. Ammunition’s work for FICO, described by the studio as a simplification from “Fair Isaac Corporation” to “FICO”, included a new logo, a visual system, secondary typography and a color palette.

Old Fair Isaac Logo (until 2009)

Before 2009 the company’s logo was built around a star-shaped symbol, according to a case summary of the rebrand. The design was an abstract device rather than lettering, and it reportedly meant little to people outside the company. I could not find a reliable source for the exact year this symbol was introduced, and earlier claims about a 1956 serif logo and a 1980s condensed sans-serif version could not be verified, so they have been removed.

FICO Wordmark (2009 to present)

The 2009 logo is plain text: FICO in thick, closely fitted capitals with no symbol. A press summary of the launch described the aim as a mark that expresses the solid strength and authority of FICO’s financial information products. The current blue version keeps that design.

What Do the Design Elements of the FICO Logo Mean?

The logo has no symbol to decode. Its meaning comes from the name: “FICO” was the abbreviation customers already used for the credit score, and the redesign put that short name in front instead of the full corporate name. The tight, heavy capitals and round C and O give it a solid look, which fits the “sturdy” description used at launch.

What Are the FICO Logo Colors?

FICO blue wordmark above a blue bar labeled 0A6DE6

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The current logo is a single blue on white, with a white version for blue or dark backgrounds. The swatch above reads #0A6DE6, but that comes from a third-party logo collection rather than a FICO brand page, so treat it as approximate. The earlier navy #003A70 and bright blue #0099DD pair has no source and the logo is not a two-color mark.

I could not find official Pantone, CMYK or RGB values, so none are listed.

What Font Is the FICO Logo?

FICO has not named a typeface, and Ammunition’s case study does not either. The wordmark is a heavy geometric sans-serif with a round C and O, and it was designed as a logotype, so it is better treated as artwork than as a font you can install.

How Is the FICO Logo Presented?

FICO logos web page listing blue and white logo files in large and small sizes

FICO publishes its logo in two colorways, blue and white, each in a large and a small file, as the page above shows. That matches how the mark is used on FICO’s social profiles, where the white wordmark sits inside a blue circle.

How Should the FICO Logo Be Used?

FICO social media page with a white FICO logo in a blue circle next to a blue banner reading Applied Intelligence

FICO and the FICO Score are registered trademarks of Fair Isaac Corporation. For news or educational use, show the logo unaltered and do not imply an endorsement. For commercial or partner use, take the files from FICO’s own logo page and ask for permission.

FAQ on the FICO Logo

Who designed the FICO logo?

The 2009 FICO wordmark was designed by Ammunition, a San Francisco design firm. A trade report named Brett Wickens as its creative director.

What font does the FICO logo use?

FICO has not named a typeface. The wordmark is a heavy geometric sans-serif drawn as a logotype, so no exact font is available.

What color is the FICO logo?

Blue on white, approximately #0A6DE6 as sampled from the current logo. A white version is used on blue backgrounds.

What does FICO stand for?

FICO is short for Fair Isaac Corporation, named for founders Bill Fair and Earl Isaac. The company began in 1956 as Fair, Isaac and Company.

When did FICO change its logo?

In March 2009, when Fair Isaac Corporation adopted FICO as its brand and replaced its earlier logo with an all-type FICO wordmark.

What did the old Fair Isaac logo look like?

Before 2009 the logo used a star-shaped symbol alongside the company name, according to a case summary of the rebrand. I could not find a dated source for earlier versions.

Does the FICO logo have a symbol?

No. The current logo is wordmark only. The star-shaped symbol of the older Fair Isaac logo was dropped in 2009.

What does the FICO logo mean?

It is the short name customers already knew from the FICO Score. The heavy capitals were meant to express strength and authority.

Is Fair Isaac still the company name?

Yes. Fair Isaac Corporation remains the legal name, and FICO is the brand name adopted in 2009.

Where can I get the FICO logo as a PNG?

FICO’s own site has a logos page with blue and white files in large and small sizes. Use those rather than third-party copies.

Conclusion

The FICO logo is a blunt blue wordmark that turned the company’s nickname into its identity in 2009. The designer is known, Ammunition, but the typeface and official colour values are not public, and the older navy serif history in the first version of this article did not check out.

Sources

  • Corporate Brand Matrix, FICO case (2009 rebrand) – https://www.corporatebrandmatrix.com/cases33f2.html?ca_id=86
  • Ammunition, Renewing a brand (FICO) – https://ammunitiongroup.com/projects_pt/fico/
  • Wikipedia, FICO – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FICO

Bogdan Sandu
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Written by Bogdan Sandu

Bogdan Sandu is a seasoned designer who has been designing websites since 2008. Renowned for his expertise in logo design and visual branding, Bogdan has developed a multitude of logos for various clients. His skills extend to creating posters, vector illustrations, business cards, and brochures. Additionally, Bogdan's UI kits were featured on marketplaces like Visual Hierarchy and UI8. He also wrote in the past years on sites like Design Your Way, WebDesignerDepot, WPDean, Designmodo, Speckyboy, Slider Revolution, and more.