The logo was created in 1975 by Walter Landor Associates, a brand consulting firm founded in 1941 by Walter Landor, a pioneer in research, design and consulting methods, with offices in multiple countries, including Mexico. They are the same ones who created the famous Sabritas smiling face logo.
The person responsible for this design was Fernando Mercado del Collado, a graphic and industrial designer with a career spanning more than 50 years, famous for multiple works that have given identity to many national brands, including Bachoco, Industrial Bloquera and Fisomex.
What does the Banamex symbol mean?
It’s not shrimp, it’s not a rosette, and it’s not a pinwheel either. They are letters “B” united, forming a star in the center.
Each of the five “B” represents the five institutions that made up Banamex: Banco Nacional de México, Financiadora de Ventas Banamex, Financiera Banamex, Hipotecaria Banamex and Seguros América.
In the documentary “Grandes de la Identidad”, Fernando Mercado recounts: “Banamex was the first bank to become multiple banks, and they were the five companies that made up multiple banks, so that’s why the five “b”s. Banco Nacional de México was shortened to Banamex.”
That identity, according to Mercado, helped Banamex stand out in an era when credit cards were a technological novelty.