Did you ever notice the SBI Logo? Have you ever thought about the SBI Logo Meaning? Are you curious to find out the answer? Read the article completely to get the meaning of the logo. State Bank of India is one of the most prestigious and largest lenders of the nation that carries out its banking and financial operations across different cities in India.
SBI bank has gained immense fame and reputation all over the country because of its trustworthy and reliable services offered to the public over the years. Despite the SBI Logo looking simple, the meaning behind it is something interesting that every person should know. Just like how SBI has gone through a series of transformations in terms of its name, similarly, the logo and slogan of SBI have gone through copious changes.
At last, the popular public sector banking organization has finalized this SBI Logo that is owned by the bank as of now. For those inquisitive readers who are willing to know the SBI Logo History and the Meaning behind it, here is the perfect post. Take a quick glance at the SBI Logo Meaning!
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SBI Logo Meaning and History
State Bank of India is one of the veteran banks in the country that was established several decades ago. With more than millions of savings/current or other types of accounts of the public as well as the topmost organizations, SBI has been rendering exceptional banking services to one and all.
For its remarkable services, even the SBI Logo has attained massive recognition in the nation. Just by looking at the logo, people from small villages, and towns to technologically developed metropolitan cities can recognize it i.e., it belongs to the State Bank of India.
Everyone can say that it’s an SBI Logo, but what about its meaning? Before knowing the meaning behind the SBI Logo, let’s get to know the SBI Logo History. State Bank of India initiated its journey with another name i.e., Imperial Bank of India in 1921. Before the modification of the SBI bank name, the Imperial Bank of India logo comprises two lions.
Before the formation of the Reserve Bank of India in 1950, the Imperial Bank of India worked as a Central Bank for British India. From Imperial Bank of India, the name of the bank has been changed to State Bank of India. After changing the name, SBI has acquired its first logo in 1955.
First Logo of State Bank of India: Banyan Tree [1955]
Second Logo of State Bank of India [Currently in Use]: Blue Circle with a narrow cut [1971 to Now]
SBI First Logo
The first and foremost logo of the State Bank of India came into existence in 1955. In the first SBI logo, we can see a big banyan tree. SBI Logo Meaning of the big banyan tree symbolizes the strong roots and branches of the bank. In the logo, we can see that the roots and branches are spread all over it representing the development, steadiness, and success of SBI.
Similarly, the State Bank of India provides its services to the public across different parts of the nation ultimately helping people financially. The first logo having a huge banyan tree comes with the name of the bank imprinted on it over the borders in English and Hindi. We can find ‘State Bank of India’ imprinted on the borders of the logo.
However, this logo was rejected as it has gained immense criticism from the public. The Logo and Slogan of SBI [first logo] had completely changed the actual meaning behind it. In general, a Banyan tree doesn’t allow any other plant to grow within its surroundings. As the Banyan Tree Logo has two different meanings both positive and negative, SBI had to abandon it and started looking for a new logo.
SBI Current Logo
Here comes the second SBI Logo that we have been seeing currently. The current SBI Logo comes with a blue circle with a narrow cut at the bottom moving towards the center of the circle. The second SBI Log was designed by Shekhar Kamat, alumni of the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad. SBI had officially launched this logo on 1st October 1971 i.e., on the inauguration day of the SBI Central Office building at Backbay Reclamation, Bombay.
Speaking about the SBI Logo Meaning, there were several interpretations for the current SBI Logo Meaning. It includes the following:
1. Unity & Integrity
The blue circle indicates unity and integrity while the narrow white line symbolizes the common man. It represents that a common man plays a crucial role in a massive organization like the bank.
2. Big Locker Concept
Another interpretation for the SBI Logo Meaning says that the logo appears just like a big locker with a keyhole in the center. Hence, it represents a bank locker of the individual who safeguards his money and valuable items.
3. Safety Keyhole
The tiny circle and the long vertical line dropping down towards the bottom of the big circle having a blue background represents a keyhole that gives a symbolic meaning of security, safety, and strength.
4. Utilize Nation-wide Banking Services
As the SBI Logo comes with a white circle in the center, it indicates the State Bank of India Branch. The thin line moving downwards represents the narrow lanes across different parts of the towns and cities in India. In short, the SBI Logo Meaning says that the SBI branch is always ready to serve you irrespective of the city or town in India you reside in.
5. Lake Concept
One of the interesting meanings of the SBI Logo is that the Ahmedabad-based designer – Shekhar Kamat had designed this logo after getting inspired by the Kankaria Lake in Ahmedabad. Just look at both the images given below. You will find a similarity between the SBI Logo and the Lake. Whenever you zoom into Google Maps to find the Kankaria Lake in Ahmedabad, you can find the SBI Logo.
All these were just the interpretations believed by many people until the actual designer Shekhar Kamat unveiled the real meaning of the SBI Logo.
Actual Inspiration behind SBI Logo
Most of the people believed that the Ahmedabad-based designer of SBI Logo got inspired by the Kankaria Lake in Ahmedabad and designed the logo for SBI. However, it’s not the true inspiration. The designer revealed that his thought was to design a simple logo for the State Bank of India.
Earlier, there were counters at the bank wherein people had to wait after taking a token from the bank executives until their turn comes to either deposit or withdraw money. His idea was to design a logo as simple as the token. In earlier days, the round tokens at the bank had a tiny circle punched out in the middle. Hence, the banking officials would collect the tokens from each customer and arrange them on a thin rod-like thing by placing each one on the top.
Keeping this in mind, the SBI logo has been designed with a round blue shape with a hole in the center. Speaking about the Logo and Slogan of SBI, the round blue shape represents the strength towards safeguarding the wealth of the public. The designer picked the blue color to match the Indian blue sky. Kamat has revealed the truth that he hadn’t seen the lake before designing the SBI Logo and hence, his inspiration was not that particular lake. Still, the logo appears quite identical to the lake, right!
Conclusion
Well, I guess you might have got the answer by now about the SBI Logo Meaning. We assume this guide has given adequate information about the SBI Logo History and Slogan of the State Bank of India. Hope you enjoyed reading out the interesting facts behind the SBI Logo Meaning for the predecessor as well as the current logo. Stay tuned to Money Compass for more interesting articles.