When Societe Generale was founded in 1864, the idea of visual identity was not really important. The company was “simply” known by its official name: Société Générale pour favoriser le développement du commerce et de l’industrie en France (Société Générale to encourage the growth of trade and industry in France). However, from 1878, the SG monogram began to appear, particularly in the form of wall mosaics or intertwined bronze letters. It was not so much a logo at this point as a graphical image that appeared on all of the institution's official documents.

It was only from 1969 onwards that Societe Generale really began thinking about giving the bank its visual identity. The Group’s new logo was known as the “Pasquier logo” after designer, Noël Pasquier, and had a circular design of an inverse spiral in dark brown and beige. Inspired by kinetic art, this new logo seemed to be in constant movement and had overtones of a horn of plenty. At this time, there were many variations of this logo, in terms of size, colours and materials used to inscribe the words “Societe Generale”.

Between 1971 and 1981, four different changes were made to the Pasquier logo, which remained the bank’s primary visual identity. In 1981, graphical standards became increasingly stringent in order to manage this visual representation. As such, from this date on, and particularly as of 1983, the "rose madder" red and ivory colours were adopted to make up the company's emblem.

The Pasquier logo was officially retired in 1986, but the “rose madder” red and ivory lived on. It was only three years later, in 1989, that Societe Generale adopted the red, black and white square design. The brief was to steer clear of symbols, retain the red colour and emphasise “Generale” more strongly than “Societe”. Lastly, it was to be 100% consistent with the advertising concept, which is based on the effective combination of human talent. The result of this was the adoption of the red and black square.

The pure form of the square seeks to express balance, strength, stability and precision. The concept of balance is underlined by the separation of the square into two equal sections. The invigorating bright red half opposes the precision and restraint of the black half. This stark contrast is softened by the white bar in the centre, which acts as a point of focus and openness, like a breath between two extremes. Lastly, the typography is extended in width to symbolise the ability of the bank to be flexible and acceptable.

Since the 1990s, the Group has undergone major international development and has diversified its activities. Therefore, at the end of 2005, the brand architecture was overhauled in order to instil a coherent and consistent brand throughout the Group. The Group and major international business line logos were developed based on a defined model and designed in two parts, a purely visual element on the left (the red, black and white square) and the name of the entity on the right. This new logo, which could be easily adapted throughout the world, enabled each entity to clearly display its association with Societe Generale Group with a strong brand symbol.

In 2005, only retail banking kept its logo unchanged. However, in 2010, with the red and black square celebrating its twentieth birthday, from this autumn, all retail banking branches will see their façades change, even if only slightly, when they adopt this made-over logo.