Chase Logo History: Compare Changes in the Brand Identity

The Chase logo has one central symbol: the octagon introduced in 1961 for the Chase Manhattan Bank. Widely published accounts credit it to the design firm Chermayeff & Geismar. Since then the octagon has stayed close to its original form. The bigger visible changes came in the wordmark and the logo lockup (the fixed arrangement of symbol and name), which followed the bank's name changes through a series of mergers.

Scope matters here. This guide covers the Chase consumer and commercial banking identity, which is built around the octagon. The parent company, JPMorgan Chase & Co., uses its own corporate wordmark, and that is a separate identity question.

Note on evidence: no source documents came with this brief. The dates and credits below reflect commonly published accounts and are marked as such. Confirm them against Chase's own brand materials or the design firm's archive before citing them. Visual descriptions refer to features you can see in commonly reproduced versions of the logo. No measured specimens were supplied.

The short answer

• Symbol: an abstract octagon made of four identical segments arranged around a square open space at the center.
• Introduced: 1961, after the 1955 merger that created the Chase Manhattan Bank (commonly reported).
• Designer credit: Chermayeff & Geismar (commonly reported; Tom Geismar is usually named as lead designer).
• What changed later: mainly the wordmark. It went from the Chase Manhattan name to the single word CHASE set in capitals. The octagon itself was kept.
• What did not change: the octagon's basic construction and its role as the brand's main mark.

How the Chase logo developed

Before the octagon

The Chase Manhattan Bank was formed in 1955 when the Chase National Bank merged with the Bank of the Manhattan Company. The supplied material includes no specimens of the earlier banks' marks, so this guide does not describe them. That is a gap for anyone building a complete visual timeline.

1961: the octagon

Observable design: four identical wedge-like segments, each turned 90 degrees from the next, form an octagonal outline. The white square in the center is negative space, meaning the empty area between the shapes reads as part of the design. The mark uses no letters, no pictures of objects and no gradients. It is a flat geometric form.

Documented claim, to verify: published accounts say the designers set out to make a purely abstract symbol rather than an illustration or a monogram. They describe this as unusual for a large American bank at the time. If you cite the rationale, attribute it to the designers' own statements in a source you have checked.

Editorial interpretation, not brand intent: people often read the octagon as a bank vault, a coin, or a cross-section of the wooden water pipes linked to the Manhattan Company's early history as a water supplier. These readings are popular, but they are interpretations. Do not present them as the reason the logo was designed.

Mergers and the Chase name

In 2000, Chase Manhattan merged with J.P. Morgan & Co. to form JPMorgan Chase. A merger with Bank One followed in 2004. Through these changes, Chase stayed the consumer-facing banking brand and the octagon stayed its symbol. The consumer lockup now pairs the octagon with the word CHASE in an uppercase sans-serif typeface (letters without decorative end strokes).

Unverified details: the supplied material does not establish the exact year the current wordmark was introduced, the name of its typeface, or which agency produced it. Treat any specific date or credit for the modern wordmark as needing confirmation.

Comparing the original and current identity

The comparison below uses shared criteria. Without matched specimens viewed under the same conditions, it records visible differences and states plainly where measurements or specifications are missing.

Criterion | 1961 Chase Manhattan identity | Current Chase lockup

Symbol geometry | Octagon of four rotated segments around a central square | Same construction; commonly reproduced versions look consistent, but no measured overlay was supplied

Wordmark content | Full bank name including Manhattan | Single word: CHASE

Typography | Typeface not documented in supplied material | Uppercase sans serif; typeface name not confirmed

Color | Commonly reproduced in blue; original specification not supplied | Blue; official color values not supplied

Lockup proportions | A longer name gives a wider horizontal lockup | A five-letter word gives a more compact lockup

Small-size behavior | Simple flat shapes favor reduction; untested | Same symbol; the central square could close up at very small sizes; untested

Tradeoffs: the octagon's main strength is continuity, since a symbol kept for decades builds recognition that a new mark would have to earn from scratch. Its abstraction means it carries no literal meaning, so it depends on the name to identify the bank. That is one reason the wordmark matters. Shortening the name to CHASE makes the lockup tighter and easier to fit in narrow spaces such as app icons, signs and cards. The cost is losing the visible link to the Manhattan Company heritage.

Which version to use depends on purpose. For historical or editorial work, use a dated specimen of the period identity and caption it with its era. For anything that represents Chase as it is today, use the current official lockup and do not rebuild it from older artwork.

Working with Chase logo vector files

• Confirm the file is really vector. An SVG, EPS, AI or PDF extension does not guarantee editable paths, because these formats can contain embedded raster images. Open the file in a vector editor and check the outline or wireframe view.
• Inspect the construction. Check whether the four segments are separate shapes or one compound path, and whether the central square is a true cutout or a white shape placed on top. A white fill will show up as a white block on colored backgrounds.
• Take color values from official brand guidelines. Do not sample colors from screenshots or downloaded files, which may contain conversion errors.
• Keep the lockup intact. Do not redraw, respace or retype the wordmark, and keep any clear space the guidelines specify around the mark.
• Check permission separately. The Chase name and octagon are trademarks. Finding a file on a logo download site does not grant the right to use it. Editorial reference, partner use and commercial use can carry different requirements, so confirm through Chase's official brand or media channels.

Gaps to close before publishing or citing

• Specimens and dates for the pre-1955 Chase National Bank and Bank of the Manhattan Company marks.
• A primary source for the designers' stated rationale behind the 1961 octagon.
• The introduction date, typeface and design credit for the current CHASE wordmark.
• Official color specifications for both the original and current identity.
• Side-by-side vector specimens at the same scale, to confirm whether the octagon's proportions changed.
• Testing at small sizes and on different backgrounds before making any claim about legibility.