Playboy is an American men’s entertainment magazine, issued from 1953 to 2020. Since 2020, the new issues are published online. It’s mostly known for publishing explicit photos of women, but that’s not all this magazine is about. It’s been a key supplier of literary, news and entertainment articles. It usually contained all the different hot topics that men at the time though interesting and important.
Meaning and History
The magazine was launched in 1953 by one Hugh Hefner. Its peak came in the 60-90s, and the popularity of the magazine started to decline with the introduction of the Internet in the 90s and early 2000s. New issues came out monthly, then becoming less regular since 2017 until going full online. The term ‘playboy’ was originally meant for boys who performed in the theater. The magazine helped popularize it as a byword for a sexually open, sophisticated man.
What is Playboy?
Playboy is the most popular men’s entertainment magazine, started in the 50s by Hugh Hefner. Besides the explicit material, Playboy is known for publishing literary, scientific and news articles, as well as many other generally entertaining materials.
1953 – today
Playboy has only really had one logo, adopted at the start and never truly altered. There are many variations and alternative versions, but they were all short-lived and barely different from the primary logotype.
The primary logotype depicts an emblem featuring a rabbit. It’s a picture of the rabbit’s head showed half-face and wearing a bowtie. The design is very minimalistic, with simple shapes and blunt choices. Nevertheless, these shapes are smooth, rounded and soft – an overall pleasant image. It’s essentially an oval with a small blot in the bottom for the neck, two sharp long ears at the top and a single dot for an eye.
They’d sometimes put the name of the brand beneath the emblem, or even use it independently. These letters are all capitalized and use a bold serif script similar to the ones American colleges and universities use.
Font
The font used to write the name of this magazine is a typical American ‘college serif’, used to write the names of colleges, universities and other educational establishments. They use big, blocky serifs at the tips of every line. This choice is supposed to represent the youth and a general flighty behavior.
Color
The logo of Playboy mainly uses the colors white and black. Black is usually the go-to color, with letters and much of the rabbit emblem colored this way. The white is used often, as well – usually against darker background. That’s supposed to inspire elegance and sophistication. Many other colors are also utilized, but usually as alternative versions.
