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Since first appearing in the early 1900s, the Shell pecten logo has become increasingly stylized, reflecting the trend towards simplicity in graphic design over the past several decades. Today , with its bold shape and distinctive colors, the logo works in any size and in any medium, whether it be a small patch stitched on a serviceman’s cap or a mural-sized icon painted on an oil tanker.
Today
Loewy’s 1971 design is used worldwide. The logo has become so recognizable that it often appears without the company’s name to identify it.
 1904:
in the beginning, Shell’s logo depicts a realistic rendering of a pecten, or scallop shell. Subtle modeling highlights the shell’s ridges.
1915:
The modeling soon disappears making the logo easier to reproduce.
Circa 1915:
 Color appears when Shell builds its first service stations in California. Red and yellow are bright which helps Shell stand out, but they are also the colors of Spain, the birthplace of many early Californian settlers. By displaying Spanish colors, Shell hopes to create an emotional bond with customers.
1925:
 The word Shell is added to connect the emblem to the company it represents.
1930:
 The shell’s ridges all but disappear, making the company’s
name easier to read.
1951:
 In the days before fax machines and the internet, many logos included subtle details such as modeling. Today, this logo would become blurred when faxed.
1963:
 Seeds of the present-day logo appear. Single lines efficiently convey the shell’s ridges; two triangles describe the shell’s base.
1971:
 Raymond Loewy, famed for his design of the Coca-Cola bottle, redesigns the logo. He simplifies the shell’s scalloped edges into a smooth semi-circle, reduces the shell’s ridges from thirteen to seven, and adds a bold, red outline.
1976:
 While the company’s European divisions adopt Loewy’s design, American divisions use a modified version: lines denoting the shell’s ridges are thinner; the two outer ridges join at the base.
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