Like most financial institutions of its time, HSBC’s first official logo was its company crest. The design reflected the core mission and purpose of a bank that was founded in Hong Kong, to support trade there. 

By the mid-twentieth century, HSBC had expanded into a global business, with an active strategy of acquiring businesses in new territories. Each company brought with it its own history, identity and branding.

From at least the 1890s, HSBC had a house flag. The design was a white rectangle divided diagonally to produce a red hourglass shape. HSBC’s founder, Thomas Sutherland, was born in Aberdeen and inspiration for the flag came from the St Andrew’s Cross of the Scottish flag. Many organisations in Hong Kong were founded by Scottish expatriates. 

In 1979, graphic designer Henry Steiner was engaged to create a corporate identity, to bring a consistent visual identity to all HSBC businesses across the world. The inspiration for chosen logo came from within the bank’s own rich heritage; the original house flag. By adding two red triangles onto the sides of the flag design, the distinctive Hexagon was born.

The Hexagon was introduced to the ‘family’ from 1983 and quickly became a recognisable symbol of the group. HSBC continued its traditional policy of allowing member companies to use their own names.

When logo was redesigned in 2018, the Hexagon moved to sit prominently in front of the bank’s name. In an increasingly digital world, with a wide variety of touchpoints, displaying the HSBC name in bold makes it more readable, whether on a mobile phone, or at the top of a skyscraper. 

We simplified the typography to make it more contemporary and fit for multiple screens from stadiums to mobiles.

Today, our Hexagon comes first whenever you meet HSBC – it’s universally used as a front door to the brand.