Logos with hidden meanings

You see logos around you everyday, some well known and some new. Would it surprise you to know that some of the most famous and well known logos have hidden meanings or a story behind their design? In this blog I will be showing you some of my favourites and giving you a little snippet of information about them, so let’s get started.

Adidas – got the name from its founder Adolf ‘Adi’ and Dassler ‘das’. The three stripes are well known on their shoes, but what you might not realise is they also form the shape of a mountain. In the 90s, the stripes were slanted to represent a mountain, which stands for the obstacles people need to overcome probably whilst wearing Adidas running shoes.

Amazon – the logo was created to give the message that it sells everything from A to Z. The arrow runs from a to z and it also represents a smile. As we all know A-Z Amazon has it all with a smile.

Cisco – the story goes that the lines represent the Golden Gate Bridge of San Francisco which was the inspiration for its founders as they drove into the city to register the company. The name was derived from the city name San Francisco, which is why the company’s engineers insisted on using the lower case cisco.

Continental – this logo has an image representing its product – but can you see it? The letters ‘C’ and ‘o’ represent a tyre, the product that Continental makes.

FedEx – at first this logo appears simple and straightforward. However, if you look at the white space between the ‘E’ and ‘x’ you can see a right-facing arrow, the hidden arrow represents speed and precision.

Gillette – the creative use of negative space between the letters ‘G’ and ‘i’ forms two blade-like shapes on top of each other. The fact they have been perfectly cut, represents the sharpness and precision of the razors.

London Symphony Orchestra – initially you will notice the letters ‘LSO’ which is an acronym, however if you look closer at the two logos you will see the letters represent a conductor holding a baton.

National Broadcasting Company – the peacock in the NBC logo stands for colour and pride which highlights the network’s colour programming.

Pinterest – the word ‘pin’ and the act of pinning something to a board plays a crucial part in the brand’s identity. For that reason, the logo incorporates a pin into the letter ‘p’.

Sun Microsystems – this graphic resembles a diamond shape with the letters ‘u’ and ‘n’ placed neatly together to make up the word. However if you look directly at the diamond and you’ll see it says ‘sun’ in every direction.

Tour de France – notice how the ‘o,’ and ‘R’ come together along with the yellow dot to form a rider on a cycle. The yellow dot also represents that stages of the race only take part in the daytime.

Toblerone – the coats of arms of Berne known as the ‘City of Bears’ where Toblerone is made has a bear on it. If you look carefully, the bear can be seen in the mountain. The letters ‘BERNE’ are also included in the word Toblerone.

Toyota – the three ellipses symbolise the unification of the hearts of Toyota customers and the company. The background space represents Toyota’s technological advancement and the opportunities that lie ahead. If you look carefully you will see that the word ‘Toyota’ can be spelt out within the elements of the logo.

Vaio – a sub-brand used for many of Sony’s computer products, the first two letters represent an analogue signal and the last two are 1 and 0, representing digital binary code.

I hope you have found this blog about logos useful, as always feel free to ask me for advice if you’re unsure.

Until the next time.