Today, things are looking a little different around Viasat. After nearly 32 years with the original “ViaSat” logo, we’ve rolled out a new, modern logo.
The “why” is pretty simple
The Company has grown a great deal over the last three decades. We acquired several companies — including WildBlue residential internet service, NetNearU managed Wi-Fi and Engreen virtualization, to name a few — and we’ve evolved our business from a mostly product-focused structure to one with tremendous growth in future broadband services. But perhaps the most powerful reason: We’ve set our sights on becoming the world’s first global internet service provider. With this ambitious goal, we knew now was the time to sunset the Exede brand and move our teams, resources and corporate assets under one master brand.
The “how” is a longer story
For starters, we asked ourselves if “ViaSat” was still the right name as we expand our business both domestically and internationally. The “Sat” represented the satellite systems at the heart of our business. It represented our legacy, our people, our hard work. But did it represent our future? We have a number of growth drivers, business initiatives and technology programs that exist outside the traditional satellite-based world. We tested the name, we tested other name contenders, and we conducted trademark searches, linguistics checks and even domain name availability around the globe for the Viasat name.
So, after thoughtful evaluation and market testing – ViaSat, and its name recognition within established markets — including defense and enterprise — proved to hold valuable weight. And yes, satellites are, and will be, a big part of our business going forward. We did, however, decide to de-emphasize and lower-case the “s” in “ViaSat” to foretell a future company that remains open to new technologies, while still paying homage to our satellite communications roots.
Next was the logo and visual identity system. We looked at hundreds, of options. We looked for a color palette that would complement our broad range of markets, customer base and diverse product and service offerings. The logo had to appear serious – to inspire confidence in military leaders, for example – yet friendly enough to appeal to our customers in the home, small business, in-flight and maritime Wi-Fi arenas.
The result, we think, fits the bill in both respects.
In addition to the lower-case “s” in the logotype, we also introduced an adjacent logomark: the “signal.” It stands for a signal of change, of growth. It captures our communications growth story: from across satellite and Wi-Fi in our more traditional consumer and business-to-business markets with an icon that says “internet is here!” while also playing into the varying waveforms we support in our defense business. The signal is meant to illustrate these growing connections and the expanding opportunities within each sector.
For color, we traded-in the blue of the original ViaSat logo and the orange of the Exede brand for a wider palette of blues, greens and purples, with a logotype that will typically be rendered in dark gray. One thing you’ll see over the roll-out of our new brand identity: We sought a logo system that had an ability to modulate – across our various business sectors – to meet different market demands. Our business is dynamic, and our logo must represent this.
Our name, logo and colors are meant to speak to who we are as a company today and into the future. We’re a modern internet company with the capacity to connect the world with great, affordable communications anywhere – on the ground, in the air or at sea.
