The NBC logo is one of the best known symbols in American television. That colorful peacock has greeted viewers for decades.
A logo like this does not happen by accident. NBC was founded in 1926 as the National Broadcasting Company, and the peacock first appeared in 1956 to promote color programming. The current six-feather peacock dates to 1986 and was designed by Steff Geissbühler at Chermayeff & Geismar.
What Is the NBC Logo?
The NBC logo is a six-feather peacock in yellow, orange, red, purple, blue and green, paired with a black “NBC” wordmark. Steff Geissbühler of Chermayeff & Geismar designed it in 1986, and NBC refreshed the peacock and wordmark in 2022.
| Symbol | A peacock with six colored feathers, facing right |
| Designer/agency | Steff Geissbühler at Chermayeff & Geismar (1986); the 1956 peacock was by John J. Graham and Herb Lubalin of Sudler & Hennessey |
| Current version since | 2022 refresh of the 1986 peacock (soft launch September 2022, on-air launch December 2022) |
| Colors (hex) | Yellow approx. #FEB800, orange #FF7010, red #EF014D, purple #685FB2, blue #018BD4, green #00B240, black (approx., sampled from the logo) |
| Typeface | NBC Tinker, a custom in-house typeface used since 2018 (updated as Tinker Pro in 2022) |
| Previous major version | The glossy 3D peacock of 2011-2022; before it, the flat 1986 peacock |
NBC is owned by NBCUniversal. RCA founded the network, General Electric took control of RCA in 1986, and Comcast bought a controlling stake in NBCUniversal in 2011 and the rest from GE in 2013.
How Has the NBC Logo Evolved Over Time?
NBC has had many logos since 1926, and the peacock is only one chapter. Early marks used microphones and lightning bolts, the peacock arrived in 1956, a plain “N” replaced it for a few years, and the six-feather peacock returned in 1986.
Early NBC Logos (1926-1956)
The first NBC logo, from 1926, shows a microphone with lightning bolts over a map of the United States, with “NBC” arched above. In 1931 it was replaced by a square with diagonal NBC letters and lightning bolts, which became the television logo in 1941. A microphone surrounded by lightning bolts followed in 1943, and wordmarks in 1946 and 1952. In 1953 NBC introduced a xylophone-and-mallet logo, a visual for the three-note NBC chimes.
The Original Peacock (1956-1975)
The first peacock was drawn in 1956 by John J. Graham and Herb Lubalin of the agency Sudler & Hennessey. It had eleven feathers and first aired on May 22, 1956, to promote NBC’s color programming. It was animated from 1957 and the announcer’s line “in living color” went with it. A separate “snake” monogram, drawn by Graham, ran from 1959 until the mid-1970s.
The Trapezoid N (1976-1979)
This is the “blue trapezoid logo”: a red and a blue trapezoid forming an “N”. It was developed by Lippincott & Margulies, unveiled on December 30, 1975 and used from January 1, 1976. It was widely mocked and caused a trademark dispute with Nebraska Educational Television, which NBC settled while keeping the “N”.
The Proud N (1979-1986)
In 1979 NBC brought the peacock back in a simplified form combined with an “N”, often called the Proud N. It was tied to NBC’s “proud as a peacock” campaign and created by Gene Kolomatsky and Ted Szumila, with network president Fred Silverman backing it.
The Six-Feather Peacock (1986-Present)
Steff Geissbühler of Chermayeff & Geismar designed the six-feather peacock that was unveiled on May 12, 1986. It turned the bird to face right and reduced the feathers to six. The six feathers are commonly tied to NBC’s six divisions and to the six primary and secondary colors. In 2011 a glossy 3D version by Zoic Studios appeared, the wordmark changed several times, and in 2022 the peacock was refreshed with brighter colors, wider spacing between the feathers and a larger beak.
What Do the Design Elements of the NBC Logo Mean?
The peacock was chosen in 1956 to show off color television, and its fan of colors made a natural advertisement. The 1986 redesign made the bird an abstract symbol rather than a literal drawing.
The six feathers are commonly said to stand for NBC’s six divisions: News, Sports, Entertainment, Stations, Network and Productions. Design Observer reports Geissbühler used color to mark divisions: yellow for News, red for Entertainment and orange for Sports.
What Colors Does the NBC Logo Use?
The six feathers are yellow, orange, red, purple, blue and green, with a black wordmark. The six colors echo the primary and secondary colors, and each is often linked to a division. NBC has not published official hex values in the sources I found, so the codes in the table above are approximate samples from the logo image. For exact matches, use the network’s own artwork, since screen RGB and print CMYK values do not match. The color theory here is simple: a full spectrum arranged like a fan, with each hue separate and bright. The general color psychology readings, such as green for growth or blue for trust, are interpretations rather than NBC statements.
What Font Is the NBC Logo?
The NBC wordmark has been set in a few typefaces. In 2013 it moved to Sweet Sans Pro. In September 2018 it switched to NBC Tinker, a custom in-house sans-serif typeface named after former NBC chairman Grant Tinker. The 2022 refresh reworked the wordmark with Tinker Pro, created by Loyalkaspar and Kerns & Cairns. NBC Tinker is not sold as a retail font, so there is no exact free match.
The letters are bold and geometric, with a plain, rounded shape that holds up at small sizes, and good typography keeps the wordmark balanced against the peacock.
What Are the Hidden Details in the NBC Logo?
Look at the peacock’s body. A small white shape between the feathers forms the bird’s head and beak, looking to the right. The right-facing bird is usually read as forward motion. The feathers also create movement in the design that carries the eye upward.
How Does the NBC Logo Compare to Competitor Logos?
Among the major American television networks, NBC’s peacock is the most colorful. CBS uses an eye symbol, ABC a circular wordmark and Fox bold blue letters.
NBC took the riskier path. More colors mean more reproduction headaches, but the peacock became the most memorable of the group. Few tech company logos or media brands are as easy to describe from memory.
What Are the NBC Logo Colors Used For?
The six colors appear across NBC’s graphics packages, promos and sub-brands. The brand also depends on sound, since the three-note NBC chimes work alongside the visual mark.
Companies of this size keep private brand rules, so this article does not list NBC’s own spacing, size or color specs. For design work, see our guides to vector graphics and the basics of a color palette.
What Cultural Impact Has the NBC Logo Had?
The peacock became part of American visual culture. Generations saw it before Saturday Night Live, The Tonight Show, Friends and Seinfeld.
The trapezoid N era showed how attached viewers were to the bird: the peacock came back within four years. NBC also named its streaming service Peacock, which launched in 2020.
How Does the NBC Logo Fit Into the Overall Brand Identity?
The peacock anchors NBCUniversal’s news and sports brands, such as NBC News and NBC Sports. MSNBC also used it until November 15, 2025, when the channel became MS NOW and dropped the peacock as part of its split from NBCUniversal into Versant.
The brand guidelines behind the system are private, and the clear visual hierarchy of a symbol above a wordmark is what ties the sub-brands together.
How Should the NBC Logo Be Used?
Treat the NBC peacock as a registered trademark. Editorial use, such as news and commentary, is normal, but products and endorsements need a license from NBCUniversal. Do not change its colors or proportions. This is general trademark advice, not a rule published by NBC.
FAQ on the NBC Logo
What does the NBC logo represent?
The NBC peacock began in 1956 as a way to show off color television. In the 1986 version its six feathers are commonly tied to NBC’s six divisions: News, Sports, Entertainment, Stations, Network and Productions.
Why is there a peacock in the NBC logo?
The colorful tail made a good advertisement for NBC’s color programming. The first peacock aired on May 22, 1956, with the line “in living color”.
Who designed the NBC logo?
Steff Geissbühler of Chermayeff & Geismar designed the six-feather peacock in 1986. The first peacock of 1956 was drawn by John J. Graham and Herb Lubalin of Sudler & Hennessey.
When was the NBC peacock first introduced?
The peacock first appeared in 1956 with eleven feathers. The current six-feather version was unveiled on May 12, 1986.
What is the NBC old logo?
The old logos include the 1926 microphone mark, the 1956 eleven-feather peacock, the 1976 trapezoid N and the 1979 Proud N. The glossy 3D peacock was used from 2011 to 2022.
What is the blue trapezoid NBC logo?
It is the 1976-1979 “N” made of a red and a blue trapezoid, developed by Lippincott & Margulies. It was unveiled on December 30, 1975.
What colors are in the NBC logo?
Yellow, orange, red, purple, blue and green, with a black NBC wordmark. NBC has not published official hex values in the sources I checked.
What font does the NBC logo use?
The wordmark uses NBC Tinker, a custom in-house typeface in use since 2018. The 2022 refresh uses an updated version called Tinker Pro.
How many feathers are in the NBC logo?
Six. The 1956 peacock had eleven feathers, and the six-feather version has been used since 1986.
Why did NBC remove the peacock in 1975?
NBC retired the peacock at the end of 1975 and launched a trapezoid “N” from Lippincott & Margulies in 1976. The peacock returned in simplified form in 1979 and the six-feather bird came in 1986.
Conclusion
The NBC logo is a rare case of a symbol that survived an attempt to replace it. The peacock began as a color TV promotion, lost out to a plain “N” for a few years and came back as a simpler six-feather bird.
The logo design principles behind it still hold: simple geometry, a clear color idea and a strong focal point.
Sources
- Wikipedia, NBC logo – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBC_logo
- Wikipedia, NBC – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBC
- Design Observer, Hope Is the Thing with Feathers – https://designobserver.com/hope-is-the-thing-with-feathers/
- LogoLounge, NBC Peacock Evolves Again – https://www.logolounge.com/news/nbc-peacock-evolves-again
- CBS News, MSNBC to change its name to MS NOW and drop the peacock logo – https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/msnbc-name-change-ms-now-nbc-universal-versant-spinoff-peacock
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.
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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.
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