MGM’s logo is a living, roaring lion.

MGM’s logo is one of the most iconic in cinema history: Leo the Lion — a majestic, roaring lion’s head framed within a ring of film ribbon, encircled by the Latin motto “Ars Gratia Artis” (“Art for art’s sake”). Unusually, it’s a living, moving, roaring logo — the lion actually roars at the start of MGM films, making it one of the few brand marks that is animated and has a sound. That roar has opened countless movies and become synonymous with Hollywood grandeur, prestige and the golden age of cinema. The lion conveys power, majesty, courage and regal authority, while the film-strip ring and the lofty Latin motto lend an air of artistic prestige and classical dignity. Our homage nods to that film-strip ring, not Leo himself.

MGM’s motto projects artistic grandeur.

The motto “Ars Gratia Artis” — Latin for “Art for art’s sake” — is a key part of the identity, projecting an image of artistic prestige and lofty cultural ambition. It positions MGM not as a mere commercial film factory but as a purveyor of art and grand entertainment — a fitting claim for a studio that, in Hollywood’s golden age, boasted “more stars than there are in heaven” and produced lavish, prestigious films. Interestingly, the lion and the motto weren’t created fresh for MGM: they were designed by publicist Howard Dietz back in 1916 for Goldwyn Pictures (the lion reportedly a tribute to the mascot of Dietz’s alma mater, Columbia University), and carried into MGM when it formed. So the emblem predates the studio itself — a nice detail for a citation page — but it became inseparable from MGM’s image of classical, prestigious, artistic Hollywood grandeur.

MGM was three studios in one.

MGM — Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer — was formed in 1924 through the merger of three companies: Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures, and Louis B. Mayer Pictures (the three names live on in the studio’s title). It quickly became the most glamorous and powerful studio of Hollywood’s golden age, home to legendary stars and lavish productions. Over the decades, several different lions have played “Leo” in the logo (the first, “Slats,” from 1924; the long-serving current lion since 1957), and the mark evolved — the gilded, golden filmstrip framing came in the 1980s, with earlier versions in black and white. Through all of it, the roaring lion remained the constant, unmistakable symbol of the studio. That heritage — a merger of three studios into the definitive golden-age powerhouse, fronted by a roaring lion — is central to MGM’s identity of classic Hollywood prestige and spectacle.

MGM shows the power of a distinctive, dynamic mark.

MGM’s Leo the Lion offers striking lessons in iconic branding. First, the power of a distinctive, dynamic logo: a living, roaring lion is utterly memorable precisely because it breaks the mould of a static mark — it moves, it sounds, it performs. Few logos are animated and have a signature sound, and that uniqueness made Leo unforgettable, a brand mark that is genuinely an experience. When you can make your logo do something, it lodges in memory in a way a still image rarely can.

Second, the value of projecting your desired image: the majestic lion (power, prestige, courage) and the lofty Latin motto (“art for art’s sake”) were chosen to convey grandeur, artistry and regal authority — positioning MGM as prestigious and important, exactly the image a golden-age studio wanted. A symbol and a motto, well chosen, can assert a brand’s stature. Third, the strength of consistency and heritage: the roaring lion has remained the constant emblem for a century (even predating the studio, via Goldwyn Pictures), accumulating a century of association with classic Hollywood — and that deep heritage is now inseparable from the mark. The takeaway is that a truly iconic identity can come from a distinctive, even dynamic symbol that projects the brand’s desired grandeur and is kept consistent long enough to become legendary. MGM’s roaring lion, framed in film and crowned with a Latin motto, is one of the greatest examples — a living emblem of Hollywood itself.

Grand, classical, cinematic lettering.

MGM pairs Leo with grand, classical lettering and the Latin motto. The specimen below stands in with a refined serif.

Golden-age gold, on black. Click a swatch to copy the hex.

MGM’s modern identity is gold #B1801E (with a highlight #D29F53) on black — classic Hollywood. Lead with the golds below.

Keep the film-ring idea on hand — save the homage and the gold to a board.