With more than a billion dolls sold over six decades, Barbie is firmly established as the premium fashion doll brand in the world.
Today we will explore the history of this renowned brand, dive into its iconic logo, and showcase premium cursive fonts similar to the Barbie logo font, as well as designs inspired by Barbie Pink.
If you like video content, then you need to check out Dom Hennequin's new video from the Envato Tuts+ YouTube channel! Learn about the famous brand and its iconic Barbie pink:
Origins of Barbie
In 1945, Ruth Handler together with friend and business partner Harold Matson opened a garage workshop called Mattel. Harold soon sold his share of the workshop, which produced picture frames, to Ruth and her husband Elliot. Elliot started making dollhouse furniture from picture-frame scraps, and they proved to be such a hit with customers that Mattel pivoted away from the picture-framing business to creating toys.
Watching her daughter Barbara and friends playing with paper dolls one day, Ruth became fascinated by their games of make-believe where they created roles for their dolls like cheerleaders, college students, and adults with careers. This inspired her to try her hand at creating a doll that reflected the way her daughter and friends were playing with their dolls. Before the creation of Barbie, dolls were made to replicate babies and young children as opposed to adults. Over time, the brand expanded to include clothes, cars, and a range of accessories.
Ruth was aided in her efforts at doll designing during a family trip to Switzerland when she came across the Bild Lilli doll in a shop. The doll was a collector's item rather than a toy for children, and Ruth used it as the basis for her design for Barbie.
Mattel introduced Ruth's Barbie doll to the world in 1959 at the American Toy Fair in New York City. She became an instant hit with young girls who enjoyed having an adult doll with different outfits and accessories that they could change. Two years after Barbie's debut, Ruth created and launched the Ken doll, named after her son.
Barbie Logo Design Elements
The Barbie Logo consists of three distinct elements:
- text in a cursive font
- a Barbie doll's head in silhouette
- a bright pink colour
What Is the Barbie Font Name?
The highly recognisable Barbie logo font was created and launched with the doll. The Barbie font is a handwritten script and has a playful, elegant, and classic feel. The actual font used by Ruth Handler to create this wonderful logo is a bit shrouded in mystery. Some say the Dollie Script font designed by Måns Grebäck from Sweden was used, while others claim the logo was based on the Barbie Medium font.
Though it may not be clear what font the Barbie logo is written in, not to worry—if you're looking for a font similar to the Barbie logo font, we've got some great suggestions for you later.
For now, it's worth noting that after its 1959 launch, the Barbie logo changed five times before reverting to its original 1959 look, which it still uses today.
Barbie Symbol
Some fans of the Barbie brand may not realise that there is also a Barbie head logo used on occasion with the Barbie letters. That's because the Barbie lettering is most often used alone. The Barbie head logo is an illustration of a Barbie doll's head in profile.
What Is Barbie's Signature Colour?
From the first appearance of the brand, Barbie's signature colour has been a hot pink. The colour was chosen because the designers believed it would appeal to its target audience of girls and women. The Barbie logo is usually presented in Barbie Pink, though on occasion it has been presented in white with a pink background.
Highlights of Barbie's Cultural Impact
Over the past six decades since their introduction to the world, Barbie and Ken have become the two most popular dolls in the world. When Barbie was first produced, the doll market was mostly made up of baby dolls designed for girls to take care of. With the arrival of Barbie, a doll with adult features, Mattel enabled girls to see themselves in roles other than nurturer and to dream of working outside the house in any career imaginable. Here are some highlights of Barbie's impact on culture.
1965: Barbie became an astronaut and went to the moon four years before Neil Armstrong.
1973: Barbie became a surgeon, at a time when few women were applying to medical school.
1974: A section of Times Square in New York City was renamed Barbie Boulevard for a week.
1980: Mattel introduced ethnic diversity into their range of dolls with the first Black Barbie. Today, the brand offers over 22 skin tones, 94 hair colours, 13 eye colours, and five body types.
1985: Barbie became a CEO, just as women began to break into leadership roles in corporations.
1986: Artist Andy Warhol created a painting of Barbie. The painting sold at auction for $1.1 million at Christie's in London.
1990: Barbie ran for President of the USA and has continued running for President in every election year since 1992.
1997: The hit song Barbie Girl by Aqua topped the charts.
1997: Since Barbie's arrival on the scene, some women have complained that the doll communicated an unrealistic body image to girls, which could lead to the risk that girls who attempted to emulate her might become anorexic. More recently, this concern has spawned the term "Barbie syndrome", used to identify those who attempted to emulate the doll's unattainable body proportions. In an attempt to address some of these concerns, Barbie's body mould was redesigned and given a wider waist. This was also the year that Mattel introduced Share, a Smile Becky doll in a pink wheelchair.
2009: Barbie celebrated her 50th birthday with a runway show in New York for the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, with 50 well-known designers participating.
2013: Barbie Café, the first Barbie-themed restaurant, opened in Taiwan.
2015: The Andy Warhol Foundation teamed up with Mattel to create an Andy Warhol Barbie.
2016: The Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, held a Barbie exhibit that featured 700 Barbie dolls over two floors, as well as works by contemporary artists and documents related to Barbie's history and legacy.
2018: In time for International Women's Day, Mattel unveiled Barbie Sheroes, a line of 17 dolls from diverse backgrounds, including Amelia Earhart, Misty Copeland, Frida Kahlo, Ibtihaj Muhammad, Bindi Irwin, Martyna Wojciechowska, Gabby Douglas, Guan Xiaotong, Ava DuVernay, Yuan Yuan Tan, Iris Apfel, Ashley Graham, and others.
2021: Barbie: Big City, Big Dreams debuts on Netflix.
2022: According to Mattel, Barbie has had more than 200 careers.
Barbie Logo Font Alternatives
Barthofern Vintage Script Logo Font (TTF, OTF, WOFF)
If you're looking for a font like the cursive Barbie font, check out Barthofern. This wonderful font offers a retro style that is completely reminiscent of the Barbie lettering style.
Amora Script (TTF, OTF, WOFF)
Amora Script is wonderfully reminiscent of the Barbie font. Best of all, the font includes 12 styles, so you have loads of options for getting just the look you want.
Montheim Script (TTF, OTF, WOFF)
Get your Barbie lettering on with Montheim, a gorgeous vintage script font in medium weight that offers all the charm and playfulness of the Barbie font.
Vanilla Daisy (TTF, OTF)
When you're in the market to create a font reminiscent of the cursive Barbie font, check out Vanilla Daisy, a stunning script font that offers both upper and lowercase characters, numbers, punctuation, ligatures, alternates, and multilingual support.
Horstail Script Font (TTF, OTF, WOFF)
Add a little of that swish you get from a brush when you use Horstail Script Font to recreate the cursive Barbie font. It offers all the same qualities of smoothness and charm but with the texture of the brush at the end of some letters for added interest.
Riviera Signature Font (TTF, OTF)
Riviera Signature Font is an eye-catching font that's perfect for recreating your own version of the Barbie letters. Just like the Barbie sign, Riviera has been designed to capture the elegant curves and personality of a signature.
Clarkson Script (TTF, OTF)
Clarkson Script is another choice of font when you want to capture the style of the Barbie sign. The font includes upper and lowercase characters, numbers, punctuation, ligatures, stylistic alternates, and multilingual support.
Caride Vintage Script Font (TTF, OTF)
When it comes to capturing the essence of the cursive Barbie font, it doesn't get any better than Caride Vintage Script Font. This wonderful vintage script font is everything that the Barbie sign is: stylish, classic, and playful.
Moyshire Vintage Script (TTF, OTF, WOFF)
How about trying the stunning Moyshire Vintage Script? This fabulous font offers a touch of the brush effect and comes in three versions: regular, rough, and edge.
Troyline Font Duo (TTF, OTF, WOFF)
Troyline Font Duo is just what you need to create your own unique branding. That's because it contains two complementary fonts. One is a gorgeous script font, and the other is a simple and clean sans serif font. The duo come in two styles: rough and stamp.
Barbie Pink Inspiration & Resources
Pink Actions Photoshop Action (ATN)
Are you mad about Barbie Pink? Then this Pink Actions Photoshop Action will make your dreams come true. The package contains ten pink actions and a handy user guide.
Pink Brochure Layout (INDD)
Not exactly Barbie Pink but certainly inspired by the love of pink, this Pink Brochure Layout is perfect for when you need to create a professional brochure but don't have the skill or the time to design each layout from scratch. It's a great template for fashion, beauty, and other cool projects.
Pink Ink Textures (JPG)
Go wild with this awesome Pink Ink Textures pack. The set contains 13 original alcohol ink textures that you can use for backgrounds or to add interest and dynamism to your projects.
Women Pink Text Effect (PSD)
Want to create a cool text effect? Check out Women Pink Text Effect. With just a few clicks, you can transfer your text into a style that will be the envy of your friends and irresistible to your audience.
Instagram Templates: Big Sales Shop (AI, EPS)
We couldn't end this post without including this fabulous resource for your social media posts and stories. Instagram Templates: Big Sales Shop Cosmetic Pink is all about pink in its various shades. It contains nine stories and post templates that are easy to customise with your own content in Illustrator.
Download Your Favourite Resources Today
Now you know a whole lot about the Barbie brand, and we have answered your question: what font is the Barbie logo written in? Head over to Envato Elements to check out the many fonts similar to the Barbie font and download one of the Barbie Pink inspired resources for your next project.
Here are more top resources to try from Envato Tuts+:
