Clever Concepts - 15 Well-known logos with hidden meanings
Elwyn offers a behind-the-scenes look at how everyday symbols carry stories and secrets that go unnoticed.
This article takes you on a journey through 15 of the most recognizable brands, shedding light on the subtle, often missed, elements embedded within their logos.
It's a revealing exploration showing just how much thought, history, and creativity goes into these designs, turning them from simple logos into rich narratives that reflect the brand's essence and connection with the audience.
This reminds us that corporate identities can blend art and strategy, each telling their unique story.
Need help with designing a logo for your business? Visit our Pixelhaze Studio Website for more information.
Baskin Robbins: The Baskin Robbins logo has the number "31" hidden in the design. The pink parts of the "B" and "R" are made to look like the number "31", representing their original 31 flavors, one for each day of the month
Beats: The Beats logo, while appearing to be a simple lowercase "b", also represents a side profile of a person wearing headphones. The circle is the head, and the "b" outlines the headphones themselves. This clever design reflects the product (headphones) and the brand name simultaneously
Cisco: (San FranCISCO) The original Cisco logo depicted the shape of the Golden Gate Bridge, a famous landmark of San Francisco, from which the company's name is derived. The company's engineers initially insisted on using the lowercase "cisco"
FedEx: The FedEx logo is famous for the hidden right-pointing arrow in the negative space between the 'E' and 'X', which symbolizes speed and precision of the delivery service.
London Symphony Orchestra (LSO): The LSO logo cleverly combines the letters 'L', 'S', and 'O' to also visually represent an orchestra conductor, highlighting the organization's focus on classical music and orchestral performances.
MyFonts: In the MyFonts logo, the 'My' is stylized to resemble a hand, indicating the personal and accessible nature of their font offerings, as if you could reach out and choose the fonts yourself.
Toblerone: The Toblerone logo not only depicts the Matterhorn mountain, reflecting the brand's Swiss heritage, but also cleverly includes the silhouette of a bear within the mountain design. The bear is a nod to the city of Bern, known as the city of bears and featured on its coat of arms, and the triangular shape of the chocolate mirrors the mountain's peak.
Gillette: The logo for Gillette features a cut in the letter "i" to represent the sharpness of their razors, and a notch in the "G" to suggest the accidental cuts that can occur with a sharp razor (popcrush.com).
NBC: The NBC logo includes a peacock with spread feathers, which signifies the network's expansion into color broadcasting.
New Man: The New Man logo is unique in that it can be read upside-down, thanks to its symmetrical design.
Northwest Airlines: Their logo included a circle that suggested a compass, with the upper left quadrant colored to point "northwest" as a part of the airline's name.
Tour de France: The logo cleverly uses letters and negative space to depict a cyclist, with the letter "O" in "Tour" representing the back wheel of a bike, and the "R" suggesting the cyclist.
Toyota: The Toyota logo reflects the company's history, with the three overlapping ellipses symbolizing the unification of the hearts of the customers and the company while also subtly nodding to the company's origins in the weaving industry — the central ellipse resembles a needle eye, with the outer ellipses suggesting the thread passing through it.
Unilever: The Unilever "U" is composed of a variety of icons that represent the wide array of products the company offers, each icon a different aspect of their business.
Sony Vaio: For Sony Vaio, the "VA" represents an analog waveform, and the "IO" symbolizes the binary language to represent the integration of analog and digital technology.
Need help with designing a logo for your business? Visit our Pixelhaze Studio Website for more information.
