YSL’s monogram was designed by an artist.

The Yves Saint Laurent monogram — the three letters Y, S and L interlocked and stacked into a single elegant vertical column — is frequently cited as one of the greatest logos ever designed. And it was created by a genuine master: the legendary graphic designer and poster artist A. M. Cassandre (Adolphe Mouron Cassandre), one of the towering figures of 20th-century graphic design and Art Deco. He designed the monogram in 1961 (it debuted publicly around 1963), the same year Yves Saint Laurent founded his house. The result is a small masterpiece: the three letters are woven together with such balance and grace that they read as a single, beautiful, fluid mark — elegant, sophisticated, timeless and unmistakable. Our homage nods to that with abstract interlocking Art-Deco strokes.

YSL’s mark is a lesson in interlocking elegance.

The genius of the YSL monogram lies in how seamlessly the three letters combine. Cassandre stacked Y, S and L vertically and interlaced their strokes so they flow into one another — the curves and lines of each letter supporting the others — creating a mark that is complex enough to be distinctive yet unified enough to read instantly. It’s balanced, harmonious and beautifully drawn, with an Art Deco elegance that has never dated. That’s remarkably hard to achieve: combining three letters into a monogram that feels inevitable rather than forced, legible rather than cluttered, and elegant rather than awkward. The YSL mark makes it look effortless, which is exactly why designers revere it. Rendered in black or gold, it conveys pure luxury and sophistication, and it has served the brand flawlessly across fashion, beauty and accessories for over sixty years — a true test of a logo’s quality.

YSL matched a great logo with great design.

The monogram belongs to a genuinely revolutionary fashion house. Yves Saint Laurent founded his label in 1961 with his partner Pierre Bergé, and went on to transform modern fashion — famously empowering women through clothing, popularising the “Le Smoking” tuxedo suit for women, ready-to-wear luxury (Rive Gauche), and a bold, modern, art-influenced sensibility. So the great logo sits atop a great, influential body of design work — the mark’s elegance is matched by the substance of the house it represents. (A note for a citation page: in 2012 Hedi Slimane rebranded the ready-to-wear line as “Saint Laurent Paris,” but the classic YSL monogram was kept for beauty and accessories, and remains the brand’s enduring emblem.) The pairing of a masterful logo with genuinely important, boundary-pushing design is a big part of why YSL’s identity carries such lasting authority.

YSL shows what a great logo can be.

The YSL monogram is a lesson in logo design at its finest. Several principles stand out. First, the value of craftsmanship and expertise: this mark was created by a true master of graphic design (Cassandre), and its quality shows — a reminder that great logos are the work of genuine skill, not luck. Second, the power of elegant interlocking: combining multiple letters into a single harmonious, balanced monogram is difficult, and doing it beautifully — so the letters flow into one unified, legible, graceful mark — is the hallmark of exceptional logo design.

Third, the proof of timelessness: designed in 1961, the YSL monogram has needed essentially no changes and still looks contemporary and elegant more than sixty years later — the ultimate test of a logo, which is that it doesn’t date. Fourth, the importance of substance behind the symbol: the mark’s authority is reinforced by the genuinely revolutionary, influential design work of the house it represents. The takeaway is that a truly great logo is a work of art in miniature — masterfully crafted, elegantly resolved, timeless, and backed by real substance. The YSL monogram, three letters woven into one perfect column by a master’s hand, is exactly that: which is why, decades on, it’s still held up as one of the greatest logos ever made.

Elegant, modern, luxurious lettering.

YSL pairs the interlocking monogram with elegant, modern lettering. The specimen below stands in with a refined serif.

Luxurious, timeless. Click a swatch to copy the hex.

YSL’s palette is black #000000 and gold #C5A253 — luxurious and timeless. Lead with black and gold below.

Keep the monogram idea on hand — save the homage and the palette to a board.