Mercado Livre is the Brazilian subsidiary of MercadoLibre, one of the largest online marketplace platforms in Latin America. Initially launched in Argentina in 1999, Mercado Livre has expanded its reach to various Latin American countries and, more recently, to Portugal and Spain since 2018. The platform allows users to buy and sell products in various categories, from electronics to groceries, often at discounted prices.

1999 - 2000: The Initial Logo

The first logo for Mercado Livre (used in the company's early stages) was a trial design, primarily associated with its parent company MercadoLibre. The logo featured the word "Mercado" in dark blue, lowercase, italicized type, paired with "Libre" in bold, handwritten-style dark yellow lettering. This design was only used briefly and was never fully implemented.

2000 - 2013: The Established Logo

In 2000, Mercado Livre introduced a more established logo, which would remain in use for over a decade. The design was based on a yellow and blue color palette, with the logo consisting of an oval-shaped emblem depicting a handshake in white with a blue outline. The handshake symbolized trust and cooperation, central themes for an online marketplace.

The wordmark beneath the emblem was split into two lines:

• The top line featured "Mercado" in white, with a bold blue outline.
• The bottom line had "Livre" in a combination of yellow and blue, using a custom, bold sans-serif typeface. The letters were slightly "jumping," giving the design a dynamic, friendly feel.

2013 - Today: Modernized and Refined

In 2013, Mercado Livre refined its logo to give it a more modern, professional look. The blue in the logo became darker and richer, while the yellow was deepened. The handshake emblem was slightly cleaned up and its contours sharpened.

The new wordmark was redrawn in a sans-serif typeface, keeping the letters in lowercase, which contributed to a cleaner and more contemporary appearance. Both the emblem and the wordmark were now in a matching shade of blue, enhancing the sense of cohesion in the design.

2020 - 2021: The "Socially Distanced" Logo

In 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mercado Livre introduced a temporary change to its logo to reflect the concept of social distancing. The handshake emblem was replaced with an image of two elbows touching, representing a safer greeting during the pandemic. The rest of the logo, including the color palette and the sans-serif typeface, remained unchanged.

Logo Elements: Color, Font, and Iconography

• Color Palette: The blue and yellow colors used in the Mercado Livre logo symbolize reliability, professionalism (blue), energy, and happiness (yellow). The white accents in the emblem and the background stand for trustworthiness and safety.
• Typeface: The wordmark is written in a custom sans-serif typeface, designed exclusively for Mercado Livre. The font is based on popular fonts like Coolvetica Regular and Europa Grotesk SH Med, but with softened and rounded edges to make the lettering more approachable and friendly.
• Icon: The handshake symbol (until 2020) and the elbow greeting (from 2020) serve as the emblem of the logo, placed above the wordmark. The emblem is housed within a blue, horizontally stretched oval, with the colors consistent across both versions of the logo.

Mercado Livre’s logo has evolved from a trial design to a polished, professional visual identity, closely following the corporate branding of its parent company, MercadoLibre. The updates have ensured that the brand stays modern, relevant, and in tune with changing global events, while maintaining its connection to the original marketplace values of trust, accessibility, and service.