The Metro logo, a century as a Madrid icon
In 1919, the first Metro trains bore the coat of arms of the Compañía Metropolitana Alfonso XIII, as can be seen in this image of the inauguration, but very soon the need arose to create a logo that was easier to identify.
In his design, Antonio Palacios was inspired by the London Underground roundel, with the intention of conveying an image of Madrid as a modern, European city. He kept the red and blue colours, which combined clarity, simplicity and dynamism, and replaced the circle with a perfect diamond. The year was 1921.
Originally, the word METRO was written in small letters and although it changed its size on some occasions, it was not until the 1980s that it changed, coming closer to the image we have today.
Before then, Metro temporarily (between 1931 and 1939) had a completely different logo, maroon in colour and made up of two M's framed by a C, the initials of Compañía Metropolitano de Madrid. This is the logo preserved on this classic train on display at Alto del Arenal station (L1).
As we have already mentioned, in the 1980s, Metro began a modernisation process under the guidance of the designer Arcadi Moradell. For the logo, we opted for plain colours and lower case Helvetica script. In addition, lines began to be differentiated by colour.
The Metro diamond has become an icon of the city, present at the entrances to all stations and easily identifiable. It has retained its shape and colours for more than a century, although in recent years, it has become the subject of several initiatives.
Thus, for example, in 2018, Metro launched a competition to choose the company's logo for its Centenary celebration. The winner of this original design was Azucena Herranz Bartolomé.
In recent years, Metro has also permanently changed the colours of the diamond at two stations: Chueca, where they have been replaced by the LGTBI flag, and Plaza de España, where the Spanish flag is displayed.
And also within different campaigns, the Metro diamond has temporarily had other colours (such as green for St. Patrick's Day) or the figures of Garfield and Ghostbusters.
Because, like the Metro itself, its logo has been evolving and adapting to the new times, without ever losing its essence, that which makes it unique and which has made it an icon of Madrid.
