Your logo design is a visual representation of what your brand stands for. When people recall your business, you want your logo to immediately come to mind. Strong logo designs contribute to a company’s success by visually communicating a message and shedding light on the brand’s unique personality.
Most people don’t consider the meaning of a logo much further than recognizing that it’s for a brand that they like. While some logos are straightforward, a few companies have a deeply rooted hidden meaning in their logos.
Here are some well-known companies with hidden meanings in their logo designs:
1. NBC
NBC’s logo resembles a colorful peacock, and most people don’t give the network’s logo much thought beyond this. However, the real meaning behind NBC’s colorful logo dates back to the 1950s when NBC was owned by RCA. During that time period, RCA wanted to sell more color TVs, so it created the colorful peacock logo to encourage to switch from black-and-white to color TVs.
NBC’s logo resembles a colorful peacock, and most people don’t give the network’s logo much thought beyond this. However, the real meaning behind NBC’s colorful logo dates back to the 1950s when NBC was owned by RCA. During that time period, RCA wanted to sell more color TVs, so it created the colorful peacock logo to encourage to switch from black-and-white to color TVs.
2. BMW
While most people associate BMW with being the ultimate driving machine, the company has deep roots in aviation. The white parts of BMW’s logo design stand for a moving propeller and the blue sections represent the sky. BMW’s logo stays true to its history and how the company has evolved over the years.
While most people associate BMW with being the ultimate driving machine, the company has deep roots in aviation. The white parts of BMW’s logo design stand for a moving propeller and the blue sections represent the sky. BMW’s logo stays true to its history and how the company has evolved over the years.
3. Amazon
Amazon has a very simple logo design that consists of the word “amazon” in all lowercase letters with an arrow below it that resembles a smiley face. However, if you look carefully, you’ll notice that the arrow starts at “a” in amazon and ends at the “z.” This detail is intentional as Amazon offers deliveries on everything from A to Z.
Amazon has a very simple logo design that consists of the word “amazon” in all lowercase letters with an arrow below it that resembles a smiley face. However, if you look carefully, you’ll notice that the arrow starts at “a” in amazon and ends at the “z.” This detail is intentional as Amazon offers deliveries on everything from A to Z.
4. Baskin Robbins
Baskin Robbins is famous for offering 31 different flavors of ice cream. While the majority of the company’s logo is blue, the pink highlighted portion in “BR” is creatively 31.
Baskin Robbins is famous for offering 31 different flavors of ice cream. While the majority of the company’s logo is blue, the pink highlighted portion in “BR” is creatively 31.
5. Coca-Cola
Although it was completely unintentional, Coca-Cola incorporated the Denmark flag into its logo design through the cursive “o” in Cola. When Coca-Cola discovered this, they chose to keep the unintentional Danish flag in their logo as Denmark has been named the happiest place on Earth.
Although it was completely unintentional, Coca-Cola incorporated the Denmark flag into its logo design through the cursive “o” in Cola. When Coca-Cola discovered this, they chose to keep the unintentional Danish flag in their logo as Denmark has been named the happiest place on Earth.
As you read through this list, were you aware of the hidden meanings behind these famous logo designs? These hidden symbols, whether intentional or not, often touch the history of the business and the brand’s unique personality. Hopefully, this list will encourage you to look a little deeper the next time you see the logos of your favorite brands and provide you with some inspiration for your own logo design.
Logos are trademarks of respective companies and do not imply endorsement.
