systemd is a suite of basic building blocks for building a Linux OS. It provides a system and service manager that runs as PID 1 and starts the rest of the system.
The logo builds on the most iconic visual artifact of system bootup on classic text terminals. The log of OS components successfully starting up, as indicated by the green [ OK ], is what many people already identify systemd with. This made it a natural choice to derive our visual identity from.
The abstract shapes in the brackets symbolize the "OK" from the boot up screen, services running inside systemd, and our overall optimistic outlook.
The logo was designed by Tobias Bernard from the GNOME project in 2019. It's licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
The full horizontal logo should be used whenever possible. If color isn't an option, it can be used in monochrome as well.
For use cases where the horizontal logo doesn't work, the vertical alternate logo can be used instead. For sizes too small for the text to be readable (e.g. avatars, icons, and the like), use the standalone logomark.
The brand colors are systemd green #30D475 and systemd black #201A26.
The brand typeface is Heebo, by Oded Ezer. The logotype uses the Bold weight.
Yes, it is written systemd, not system D or System D, or even SystemD. And it isn't system d either. Why? Because it's a system daemon, and under Unix/Linux those are in lower case, and get suffixed with a lower case d. And since systemd manages the system, it's called systemd. It's that simple. But then again, if all that appears too simple to you, call it (but never spell it!) System Five Hundred since D is the roman numeral for 500 (this also clarifies the relation to System V, right?). The only situation where we find it OK to use an uppercase letter in the name (but don't like it either) is if you start a sentence with systemd. On high holidays you may also spell it sÿstëmd. But then again, Système D is not an acceptable spelling and something completely different (though kinda fitting).