Faber-Castell’s emblem is two knights jousting with giant pencils.

Faber-Castell’s emblem is one of the most charming in design: two knights on horseback jousting, using giant pencils as lances. The “knights of the pencil” began as a 1905 advertising painting commissioned by Count Alexander zu Castell-Rüdenhausen; it was later dropped as old-fashioned, then reinstated in the early 1990s in stylised form as the heart of the corporate logo, symbolising quality, tradition and craftsmanship. The other half of the identity is a colour: the dark green of the Castell 9000 graphite pencil, launched in 1905 — “the green pencil from Faber” — whose shade came from Count Alexander’s regimental (military) green. (Honest caveats: the wordmark’s typeface isn’t publicly documented, so don’t name one; and Faber-Castell publishes no official brand hex, so describe the green qualitatively.)

The heritage is genuinely extraordinary. Faber-Castell was founded in 1761 in Stein, near Nuremberg, Germany, by the cabinetmaker Kaspar Faber (originally as “A.W. Faber”), making it one of the world’s oldest and largest manufacturers of pens and pencils — family-owned across roughly eight or nine generations and more than 260 years. The figure who made it a global brand was Lothar von Faber (1817–1896), Kaspar’s great-grandson, who took over in 1839, created one of the world’s first branded writing instruments, and set standards for pencil length, thickness and hardness (grading) that the whole industry adopted; the familiar hexagonal pencil is attributed to him (commonly dated to the mid-19th century). The premium Graf von Faber-Castell “Perfect Pencil” — a fluted cedar pocket pencil in a metal extender with a built-in sharpener, clip and eraser — carries that craft into the luxury tier.

The double-barrelled name comes from a marriage. Lothar’s granddaughter and heiress, Ottilie (“Tilly”) von Faber, married Count Alexander zu Castell-Rüdenhausen in 1898; because Lothar’s will required the “Faber” name be kept, the family and company took the name “Faber-Castell” (with Alexander made co-partner around 1900). The company remains family-owned: Count Anton-Wolfgang von Faber-Castell (1941–2016), the 8th generation, led it for nearly forty years until his death on 21 January 2016; under a 2021 ownership plan the 9th-generation siblings are the majority shareholders, with the business now family-owned but professionally managed.

Faber-Castell lives in dark green. Click a swatch to copy the hex.

Faber-Castell’s signature colour is a deep, dark green — the green of the Castell 9000 pencil, drawn from Count Alexander’s regimental colour. It’s a serious, heritage, slightly military green that reads as quality and tradition, and it has identified “the green pencil” for well over a century. Paired with the jousting-knights emblem, it gives the brand an old-world, craftsmanlike character that suits the world’s oldest pencil-maker. The honest caveat: Faber-Castell publishes no official public hex, so the green here is an approximation of that signature dark green rather than a confirmed brand value — best described qualitatively.

The lesson is a heritage colour with a real origin. Faber-Castell’s dark green isn’t arbitrary — it comes from a family member’s regimental colour and has identified the brand for over a century, which makes it authentic and enduring. For designers, it’s a reminder that a signature colour with a genuine story and long, consistent use becomes deeply ownable. The takeaways: choose a signature colour with meaning and stick with it for the long term (the green pencil); pair it with a distinctive emblem (the knights); and describe a heritage colour qualitatively when no official hex is published.

The voice is a heritage serif — old-world and crafted.

Faber-Castell’s heritage serif voice suits a 260-year-old family firm. Classic, refined serif letterforms read as traditional, quality-conscious and crafted — exactly the register of the world’s oldest pencil-maker, and a natural partner to the jousting-knights emblem and the dark-green classic. The serif signals continuity and pedigree in a way a modern sans never could, tying the brand to its long history while the knights add a touch of playful, chivalric character. That old-world feel is essential to a company that trades on centuries of craft and family ownership. (Because the wordmark’s exact face isn’t documented, the honest description is “a heritage serif,” not a named font.) The type behaves like the brand: traditional, crafted and quietly proud of 260 years.

Faber-Castell built a brand on heritage, family and one green pencil.

Faber-Castell is a lesson in heritage as a brand’s foundation. Founded in 1761 and owned by the same family for eight or nine generations, it has an authenticity that no younger brand can manufacture — and it expresses that heritage through a few enduring, ownable assets: the dark-green Castell 9000 pencil, the jousting-knights emblem, and a legacy of innovation (Lothar von Faber’s branding, grading standards and hexagonal pencil). Those elements make the brand instantly recognisable and deeply trusted, from a schoolchild’s pencil to the luxurious Graf von Faber-Castell “Perfect Pencil.” The brand’s power comes from doing one thing supremely well for over 260 years, and from turning its long family story into a coherent identity.

For designers and brand-builders, Faber-Castell offers a clear takeaway: genuine heritage, expressed through a few consistent assets, is a powerful brand. The lessons: own a signature colour and emblem with real stories (the regimental green, the jousting knights) and use them consistently for the long term; let a heritage identity (a serif voice, a family narrative) signal quality and trust; and honour your history of innovation as part of the brand. It’s also a reminder to keep the facts precise — the company was founded in 1761 by Kaspar Faber; Lothar von Faber (from 1839) made it a global brand and standardised grading and the hexagonal pencil; the “Faber-Castell” name comes from Ottilie von Faber’s 1898 marriage to Count Alexander zu Castell-Rüdenhausen; the green Castell 9000 dates to 1905; and Count Anton-Wolfgang led it until his death in 2016, with the family still owning it. Faber-Castell turned 260 years of craft into a beloved brand — proof that authentic heritage, well expressed, is hard to beat.

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