# Autodesk new logo (2021)

> Autodesk launched a new logo on 14 Sep 2021. New logo.

## Key facts

- Brand: Autodesk
- Launched: 14 Sep 2021
- What changed: New logo.
- Industry: Design tools
- Logos: https://rebrandlog.com/logos/autodesk-2021/before.svg (before), https://rebrandlog.com/logos/autodesk-2021/after.svg (after)

## The rebrand, explained

On 7 September 2021 Autodesk introduced a new logo, colours and imagery, calling it the first of several bold moves to reimagine the brand around a belief that a better world can be designed and made for all. CG Channel covered the launch the next day, noting it replaced a logo the company had used since 2013.

The wordmark is not a radical departure, CG Channel observed: still sans-serif capitals, though in a noticeably bolder font. The real change is the A, which has evolved into a semi-abstract symbol. An animation on Autodesk's brand site reveals it as a plan view of a more complex, stylised 3D mechanical part. Autodesk called the result dynamic, modern and memorable, representing action, momentum and direction, a strong, simple logo for a brand synonymous with doing. Its new imagery uses abstract 3D geometric forms created by zooming into parts of the symbol.

The brand system adds a corporate typeface, Artifakt, from a veteran type designer, which CG Channel said gave the homepage a fair bit of visual impact. The long-serving Autodesk blue was retired in favour of black and white, two detail greys and four accents named clay, plant, iris and gold. At launch only the homepage had switched; product pages kept the old look, and Autodesk promised new product identities and icons later. New logos for 3ds Max, Maya and other media and entertainment tools followed in March 2022.

CG Channel pointed branding sceptics to a wicked parody of the process in a comment thread elsewhere.

The symbol is the smartest part. Drawing the A as an engineered component speaks directly to people who model things for a living, and it gives the imagery an endless supply of crops. Dropping blue for black and white is more debatable: it reads premium, but it also reads like everyone else in software.

In short: An A you could machine.

## Sources

- https://www.underconsideration.com/brandnew/archives/new_logo_for_autodesk.php
- https://www.cafm-news.de/autodesk-neues-logo-2021/

## Cite this

Rebrand Log, "Autodesk new logo (2021)", https://rebrandlog.com/rebrand/autodesk-2021/, last updated 2026-10-20.