17 Famous Logos With Hidden Meanings
17.
Evernote The popular freemium app Evernote allows users
to save everything from web pages to personal documents in various different file categories
on their digital devices.
To communicate the value of a service that helps its customers retain important information,
Evernote uses the profile image of an elephant.
This comes from the common phrase, “Elephants never forget.”
The elephant’s ear is made to resemble a sheet of paper or a digital document icon
with the top-left corner, or “ear,” of the page folded down.
This represents saved or flagged information.
16.
The London Symphony Orchestra As the oldest classical symphony orchestra
in the world, the LSO updated its logo in 2004 to highlight its progressive reputation
as a self-governing collective of elite musicians.
Created by The Partners, a New York-based design agency, the London Symphony Orchestra
utilizes a continuous cursive style to represent each letter of its acronym with the waving
motion of a conductor’s wand.
But upon closer inspection, the combined shape of the three letters forms the image of a
playful conductor leading an orchestra.
15.
The Guild of Food Writers Founded in 1984, Britain’s Guild of Food
Writers recognizes and celebrates culinary journalists and critics.
As a representation of the two main aspects of its members’ professions - eating and
writing - the guild’s logo depicts the point of a pen in black around the shape of a spoon,
which can be seen in the white negative space.
14.
Mister Cutts Barber Shop Mister Cutts was founded in 2014 in Jakarta,
Indonesia.
Its slogan, “Not Just Your Dad’s Barber Shop,” refers to the frivolous and youthful
spirit displayed in full by the interior aesthetic of its original location.
The founders of Mister Cutts wanted their customers to feel a sense of ease and good
humor when considering their male-targeted cuttery.
To further illustrate this, the logo, designed by Tabitha Kristen, depicts a pair of open
scissors that form the mustached face of a man.
13.
Sun Microsystems As the company that wrote the code for the
Network File System, Solaris and Java, Sun Microsystems set itself apart from other software
entities early on.
In step with its place in the history books, Sun’s logo is equally unique due to its
use of an ambigram, a symbol that retains its depiction of words or images no matter
the direction from which it is viewed.
Sun’s signature diamond logo spells out the word “Sun” four times, with the “U-N”
of each previous word serving as the “S” for each new word.
Created by company co-founder Vaughan Pratt, who had no background in graphic design when
he came up with the image, this logo also forms the shape of a computer chip, an additional
reference to the company’s products and services.
12.
Baskin Robbins In order to ensure their customers would have
the option of a different flavor for every day of the month, Baskin Robbins became the
first ice cream company to offer 31 different flavors.
As part of a brand re-launch in 2005, in honor of the company’s 60th anniversary, the Baskin
Robbins logo was redesigned to include the digits of the number “31” as pink pieces
of the “B” and “R” within the famous ice cream maker’s blue initials.
11.
Toblerone Toblerone is known for its oversized chocolate
bars and various other candy products.
Based in the Bern, Switzerland, the company’s logo makes reference to its city’s slogan,
“the City of Bears,” as well as its country’s status as the home of the Matterhorn Mountain.
The outline of a bear in the white space of the Toblerone logo’s signature golden Matterhorn
can be seen upon close inspection.
The bear also represents the use of honey flavoring in Toblerone chocolate, while the
mountain imitates the rectangular shape their unique chocolate bars.
Through this illustration, the company manages to employ its roots, its nation of origin,
its product’s shape, and its taste when marketing itself to consumers.
10.
CodeFish Using a greater-than sign, an asterisk, three
left-facing parentheses, an opposing greater-than sign, and an open right-facing curly brace,
the Codefish logo forms the shape of a fish using symbols related to computer code.
Created by the graphic design agency Mabu, the logo makes reference to Codefish’s efficiency
as a software development and IT consulting firm.
9.
Sony VAIO VAIO stands for Visual Audio Intelligent Organizer.
Specializing in laptops and smartphones, it was a sub-brand of the Sony Corporation from
1996 until 2014, when it was sold to Japan Industrial Partners.
The two halves of VAIO’s logo represent the bridge between analog and digital technologies.
The “V-A” portion is formed by the illustration of an analog wave while the “I-O” is formed
by a “1-0” - a reference to the “Ones and Zeros” synonymous with digital binary
code.
8.
The Hope for African Children Initiative While other logos make observers search for
shapes or symbols in negative white space, the white outline in the HACI logo is often
its most immediately noticeable feature.
It appears to be the abstract geographical form of the African continent.
But hidden on the viewer’s left side is the silhouette of a child emerging from the
wilderness, while on the right there stands the silhouette of a pregnant woman.
The image is meant to depict the nonprofit's commitment to caring for children from the
prenatal phase all the way through young adulthood by focusing on nutritional needs as well as
HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention.
7.
The Carolina Panthers Though they are based in Charlotte, North
Carolina, the Carolina Panthers represent both North and South Carolina as a combined
region in the NFL, much like the New England Patriots.
Upon first looking at the team’s black, blue and silver logo, it appears to be simply
a roaring panther, but those familiar with the geography of the East Coast of the United
States will recognize the general shape of both the Carolinas in the symbol’s outline.
6.
Sonos As a producer of consumer electronics mainly
focusing in music and sound, Sonos faced a considerable challenge in visually conveying
its speciality during its rebranding process.
But thanks to Bruce Mau Design, the consulting firm in charge of creating the new logo, the
final image succeeded in depicting the concepts of rhythm, sound waves and amplification all
in one.
In a happy accident, the proximity of outstretched lines to one another in the logo’s mockup
created the effect of the pulsating pattern of a musical beat.
This is particularly noticeable when scrolling past the logo on a computer or through viewing
it as a GIF.
Once the design team noticed the effect, they adjusted the color and shading to further
emphasize the waveform present in the emblem’s movement.
5.
Apple The partially bitten apple and accompanying
leaf signifying the company built by Steve Jobs is one of the most recognizable symbols
on earth.
But few are aware of the deep, complex and heavily debated meaning behind the iconic
trademark.
Many who have speculated about its intention have been high-level Apple employees.
The three most prominent theories are that it is a reference to the apple that fell on
Isaac Newton’s head, inspiring his comprehension of gravity; a reference to the Biblical fruit
that Eve bit into in order to obtain forbidden knowledge; and finally, the cyanide-laced
apple bitten into by Alan Turing, the English mathematician whose work led to the invention
of the computer.
When asked in 2009 about these theories, the logo’s designer, Rob Janoff, stated that
he was touched by the analysis regarding Turing’s work.
Its most basic meaning to the average user, however, would be that the missing portion
of the apple refers to the “bytes” on which all computing is based.
4.
Le Tour de France The logo of the world’s most famous bicycle
race has both a bicycle and a rider hidden within its letters.
The “O” in the word “tour” forms the back wheel, the “U” functions as the bike
seat, the “R” with a small black dot beside it takes the shape of an elevated cyclist,
and the prominent yellow dot on the side completes the hidden symbol with the front wheel.
Furthermore, the yellow dot also represents the sun, a reference to Le Tour de France
being a daytime event stretched out over a 23-day period.
3.
Hyundai What many people don’t notice in the italicized
“H” of the Hyundai logo is the additional shape of two figures shaking hands.
The subliminal scene represents the South Korean company’s commitment to satisfaction
and trust when dealing with its customers.
The shimmering silver is a reference to the word “Hyundai,” which roughly translates
from Korean to English as “modernity.”
Finally, the oval shape forming the rim around the emblem refers to Hyundai’s status as
a global entity in automotive engineering and construction.
2.
The Museum of London Each year, over one million people come to
see the six million-plus artifacts on display at the Museum of London.
These artifacts chart the social, political and economic history of the United Kingdom’s
capital city.
To communicate this function, the museum’s logo shows a blob of overlapping colors, each
representing a different period of the City’s topographical history, beginning with the
prehistoric era and continuing all the way up through modern times.
The smallest, purple shape in the middle of the design serves as the outline of London
in its original form along one side of the River Thames, while the largest, light blue
shape shows the sprawling form of the city as it stands today.
1.
The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium In another creative use of negative space,
the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium logo subtly shows the figures of numerous animals within
its illustration of a tree.
Forming their figures along the outline of the tree trunk and it’s wide-reaching branches,
a gorilla and a lioness stand against one another face-to-face.
The falling leaves and smaller branches of the tree serve an additional illustrative
purpose as the gorilla and lion’s mouths, noses, eyes, and ears.
Lastly, the black birds above the tree and jumping fish below complete the range of winged,
land and sea animals one can encounter upon a visit to the famous wildlife enclosure and
exhibition.