Seventeen is an American bimonthly teen magazine based in New York City. The magazine’s reader-base is 13-to-19-year-old females and is published by New York City-based Hearst Corporation.
Founded in 1944 by Helen Valentine, “Seventeen” magazine was the first modern ‘teen magazine’. An immediate success, it became iconic in establishing the tastes and behaviors of successive generation of teen girls covering the last half of the 20th century. “Seventeen” helped create the modern concept of ‘teenager’. The early “Seventeen” provided a generation of thinking young women with information on citizenship and clothing, politics and popularity, adult occupations and adolescent preoccupations. Soon after its debut, Seventeen took a more fashion- and romance-oriented approach in presenting its material while promoting self-confidence in young women. It was first published based in New York City on September 1944 by Walter Annenberg’s Triangle Publications and The Atlantic Monthly Company in 1944 to 1946.
Our Brand
“Seventeen is your magazine, High School Girls of America — all yours! It is interested only in you — and in everything that concerns, excites, annoys, pleases, or perplexes you.
You’re going to have to run this show — so the sooner you start thinking about it, the better. In a world that is changing as quickly and profoundly as ours is, we hope to provide a clearinghouse for your ideas.
As a magazine, we shall discuss all the things you consider important — with plenty of help from you, please. Write us about anything or everything. Say you agree with Seventeen or disagree violently, say we’re tops, say we’re terrible, say anything you please — but say it!”
—Helen Valentine, founded Seventeen, Editor in Chief
Our History
1940
Founded in 1944 by Helen Valentine, “Seventeen” magazine was the first modern ‘teen magazine’.
1944
January and February 1945: Valentine wanted Seventeen to address the teenage girl as a “whole human being” — one that wasn’t only interested in fashion and boys, but who had also a political and social conscience.
1945
1960
1980
2000
Seventeen made sure to keep editorial virginal (no ads with alcohol or cigarettes, and absolutely no ads featuring hotel rooms). Annenberg wanted the magazine to be one that American parents actively wanted their teenaged daughters to read.
1946
1949
The magazine’s five-year anniversary. The cover not only harkens back to the symbolism of Valentine’s first editorial letter, but marks her farewell to the magazine. While this wasn’t Valentine’s last issue (that would come in April 1950), it was her final Seventeen birthday letter.
In the mid 60s, the magazine consistently included politically-slanted pieces, such as these: “What You Can Do For Human Rights in Your Own Home Town” and “Four teens report on: the race for space, the war in Vietnam, civil rights, the war on poverty.”
1965
New York City-based News Corporation bought Triangle in 1988 and sold Seventeen to K-III Communications in 1991.
1991
In 1999 Linda Platzner was named Publisher and then President of the Seventeen magazine group.
1999
Joyce Walker became the first black model to be featured on the cover of Seventeen in July 1971.
1971
Primedia sold the magazine to New York City-based Hearst in a process led by Platzner in 2003
2003
2010
In 2010, writer Jamie Keiles conducted “The Seventeen Magazine Project”, an experiment in which she followed the advice of Seventeen magazine for 30 days.
2023
In 2012, in response to reader protests against the magazine’s airbrushing its models’ photos, Seventeen ended its practice of using digital photo manipulation to enhance published photographs.
2012
Present
Seventeen remains the largest teen media brand, reaching more than 15 million readers across print, digital, and social platforms every month.
In print and on Gen Z’s favorite digital platforms, Seventeen is able to provide a community where our readers know they belong. Our relatable voice, clear-cut service, and coverage of all the things
teens love makes us the go-to place for young people.
Our New Logo!
The Seventeen logo is the primary visual representation of our brand and should accompany all corporate and product communications. The new Seventeen logo is a combination of a star-look number one and the number seven. The star symbolizes Seventeen’s image of confidence, vibrancy, and wellness, while the sharp points at both the star and the tail of seven represent the vibrancy, powerful and youth of teens. The hand-written wordmark adds a stylish feeling to the logo.
The Development Process
Logo Anatomy
The logo anatomy clearly shows the structure and proportions of the logo. This will standardize the details of the logo and the proportions between the different components, thereby avoiding incorrect use of the logo.
Clear Space
Symbol
To ensure legibility and consistency, the Seventeen logo must always have the surrounding clear space as presented here. This space should be free of text, graphics, and borders established by the edge of page, screen,etc.
Circle Logo
Signature
To better apply to a variety of carriers, there are four variations of the new Seventeen logo: symbol only, wordmark, signature, and circle logo.
Logo Alternatives
Symbol
Wordmark
Signature
Circle Logo
The logo size chart shows the logo variations that correspond to different sizes. This chart helps to standardize the use of the logo and avoid the use of the wrong size logo, which can affect the recognition and visual effects of the logo.
Size Chart
Typographic Standards
We launch a new typography system to interpret Seventeen’s confident and vibrant image better. Our primary typeface is EloquentJFPro, a high-contrast elegant serif typeface. This font represents Seventeen’s bold, elegant tone as a brand for teen girls.
Our secondary typeface is Officina Sans ITC Pro—a clean and highly legible sans serif typeface used principally forcbody copy.
Primary Typeface
EloquentJFPro
EloquentJFPro
Secondary Typeface
Officina Sans ITC Pro
Officina Sans ITC Pro
Officina Sans ITC Pro
Officina Sans ITC Pro
Officina Sans ITC Pro
Officina Sans ITC Pro
Officina Sans ITC Pro
Officina Sans ITC Pro
Colors
The primary color for our logo is Seventeen Yellow and Seventeen Pink. Both the colors represent the image of Seventeen, vivid, confident, and vibrant. For restricted or one-color materials, use black or white(typically a reverse out of a solid color or image).
17 Yellow
C 10
M 0
Y 83
K 0
R 255
G 255
B 0
17 Pink
C 7
M 94
Y 31
K 0
R 237
G 28
B 112
Brand Guidelines
