Here Are the Fonts Used on Alibaba’s Logo and Why You Should Consider Them for Your Design Projects
Alibaba Group Holding Limited, commonly known as Alibaba, is a Chinese technological company best known for its e-commerce and retail services.
Alibaba was founded on June 28, 1999, in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, by Jack Ma. The company presently has two headquarters. The first is located on No. 969 West Wen Yi Road, Yuhang District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, whereas the second headquarter is in George Town, Cayman Islands.
Besides retail and e-commerce, Alibaba also offers internet and technology services. The company provides its services through various channels, including business-to-consumer (B2C), business-to-business (B2B), and consumer-to-consumer (C2C).
And while it’s headquartered in China and Cayman Islands, Alibaba’s services are accessible worldwide.
Alibaba Font
The Alibaba logo is designed in two popular typefaces.
The word “Alibaba” on the logo is in a version of the Universe font known as Linotype Univers Com 740 Extended Heavy, whereas the “.com” part is designed in a version of the Pluto Sans font called Pluto Sans Regular.
Linotype Univers Com 740 Extended Heavy is a cool variant of the popular Univers font, a sans-serif family of typeface created by renowned font designer Adrian Frutiger. The font was released in 1957 by Frutiger’s employer, Deberny & Peignot.
After its release, Univers was subsequently licensed and re-released for phototypesetting by several organizations, including Monotype, American Type Founders, Linotype, and IBM.
Univers is classified as a neo-grotesque sans-serif. The font’s development was inspired by 19th-century German typefaces like Akzidenz-Grotesk. It’s available in several weights and widths.
Compared to previous sans-serif typefaces, such as Gill Sans, the Univers typeface encompasses various fonts that feature consistent and related designs. Although the variants have slight differences in aspects like weights and widths, these variances are subtle and not easily noticeable.
That characteristic allows documents in different Univers variations to be shared seamlessly without needing to effect significant font changes.
Pluto Sans Regular, on the other hand, is the regular version of another relatively famous typeface – Pluto Sans. But unlike Univers, Pluto Sans is a fairly new font. The typeface was released in 2012 to a considerably positive reception.
Pluto Sans is the work of designer Hannes von Döhren. The font is characterized by its unique x-height and geometric attributes, which makes it perfect for using on logos with long texts printed on a small surface.
Where to Download Alibaba Fonts
There’s no shortage of websites where you can download Alibaba fonts.
You can download Linotype Univers Com 740 Extended Heavy by following the download link on the FontHaus website. The font is also available for download from the WhatFontis.com platform.
As for the Pluto Sans Font, you can check the font out on My Fonts or the Fonts Family website.
All these websites let you download Alibaba fonts for use on personal and commercial projects. But whichever site you choose, be sure to check the download instructions before proceeding. That’s especially if you intend to use the font on business projects.