This post was initially published on Oracle’s blog, this is a slightly modified version.
The MySQL logo, representing the popular open-source relational database management system and recognizable by its dual colors, blue and orange, didn’t change much over time after the big change that maybe only a few remember.
The initial logo was red and black with shadow, it looked like this:
Then, with the change of the website, the shadow was removed and the background used for the website became yellow and it looked like this:
It was not until July 2001 that the new colors and the dolphin were introduced on the website.
The dolphin logo, proposed by Erik Granström, symbolizes the company’s values of survival and contribution to Open-Source software. It also reflects MySQL’s need to occasionally charge for its services. The mascot’s distinctive jumps emphasize dolphins’ intelligence and teamwork.
We released a special episode of Inside MySQL – Sakila Speaks podcast focused on our lovely mascot.
With Oracle’s acquisition, the logo changed slightly, and the typography was updated slightly to be consistent with Oracle’s branding, but MySQL retained its distinct identity.
At that time, we had the opportunity to observe two distinct pairs of orange and blue, as illustrated below:
The darker blue has now been designated as the official color, and these colors are maintained to illustrate and reinforce the brand’s visual continuity; furthermore, they exemplify the Open Source mindset within Oracle, as other Open Source projects have similarly adopted this color scheme:
However, the old MySQL logo is still present for conditional use as you can see:
For more information about our logo and usage, please check the following pages:
