Red Hat leaves the shadows behind
- Date: 25 June, 2019
The 'Shadowman' in Red Hat’s logo used to be the Robin Hood of the internet. Open Source was the absolute opposite of expensive software packages. Techgiants were deeply impressed by these Open Source pirates in 1999, when Red Hat came up with it's old logo.
But in 2019 the tables have turned. Open Source is the rule and an exception no longer. It was time for Red Hat to change its' logo to a logo that fits the times – the red fedora (the hat) from the original logo is the only thing that’s left from the old logo on the new. Open Source means transparency after all, it was about time Red Hat stepped out of its' 'shadow'.
From Red Hat Man Man to Shadowman
Where did the idea of 'Shadowman' come from?
At first, Red Hat wanted to call the hatted man ‘The Red Hat Man’, but decided to change his name to 'Shadowman'. 'Shadowman' was a made-up figure that introduced open source software to the masses.
In 1999 this logo fitted the image of Red Hat extremely well, but times have changed. The Open Source community isn't that 'secretive' anymore, almost everyone is familiar with the concept of Open Source now.
Red Hat went looking for a new logo – their employees contributed in an open source project about the new logo. You can read all about the process in this series of articles ‘The Open Brand Project’.
Too mysterious
Red Hats' new logo had to show openness and transparency.
‘Shadowman’ didn't have that look. As Red Hat wrote on their blog: ‘But someone new to the Red Hat brand wouldn’t learn any of that from looking at our logo. At first glance they may see a secret agent, a shadowy figure, someone they’re not sure they can trust. Our research bears this out: Shadowman is seen as more secretive than open, and more villainous than heroic.’
The image people had of 'Shadowman' had wasn’t positive. He was too secretive. But there were other reasons for changing the logo you can read about in this blog.
The typography and the corporate identity of the company changed as well. Red Hat explains the process in this interactive production.
It’s not just the logo that’s changed
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 became available too – and that means certifications are changing. The Red Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA), Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) and Red Hat Certified Specialist in Ansible Best Practices have all changed. You can read about the exact changes on the Red Hat Enterprise Linux – certification page.
