Lifestyle7 min(s) read
Published 11:43 30 Jul 2019 GMT
Logos are very much a symbol (no pun intended) of how commercialized our world is, and businesses rely greatly on how memorable and eye-catching their own ones are. It's not all about catchy jingles and funny TV commercials. You need something that's going to stick with the business forever - a visual aid of sorts.
The best and most ingenious kinds of logos are the ones that contain hidden messages within them. Often we don't see these hidden messages first time round; in fact, most of us won't even notice them until they're pointed out to us. Well, point them out is exactly what I'm about to do now. Read on to discover the hidden messages behind some of the world's most recognizable logos.
[post_page_title]FedEx[/post_page_title]
You probably didn't think much of the FedEx logo before, well you're about to. Contrary to popular belief, the logo isn't simply "Fed" and "Ex" side by side.
If you look closely enough, you'll see that the white space between the "E" and the "x", is actually an arrow. This symbolizes that the company is constantly in motion, delivering things from A to B.
[[pagebreak]][post_page_title]Cisco[/post_page_title]
Now you may already know from the name of the company that its headquarters are in San Francisco, but do you know what the lines on top are?
Cisco, the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet, is named after its headquarters’ location in San Francisco. This should give you a clue as to what the blue stripes on top represent: it's San Francisco's famous Golden Gate Bridge!
[[pagebreak]][post_page_title]Toblerone[/post_page_title]
So, Toblerone is not just one of the most scrumptious chocolate bars the world has ever seen, it also has a little hidden image within its logo...
Now, the mountain can very clearly be seen on the Swiss chocolate's logo, but can you make out what's inside the mountain? Look closely enough and you'll see that there's a bear on the mountain. What do bears have to do with Toblerone? Well, its headquarters are in fact in the "City of Bears" aka Bern.
[[pagebreak]][post_page_title]Spartan Golf Club[/post_page_title]
So the Spartan Golf Club logo, at first glance, is simply a man swinging his golf club, however...
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If you look closely enough you can also make out a Spartan warrior, which is obviously relevant to the name of the golf club.
[[pagebreak]][post_page_title]NBC[/post_page_title]
If you thought the NBC logo was just a load of colorful nonsense, you were wrong...
It's a peacock... The white space depicts the peacock's neck and head, and the colors depict its feathers. But why is there a peacock in NBC's logo? Well, it's because NBC are "proud as a peacock" about all the shows they have on offer! NBC’s logo has a couple of hidden meanings. It’s clear that it’s a peacock, but why? When the logo was developed color televisions were being introduced (explaining the rainbow of colors), and the network wanted a logo that would cause black and white tv owners to make the switch. So, they went with the common phrase (at the time), ‘proud as a peacock’, promoting that they were proud of their new color system. The six different colors of the feathers represent the six different divisions of NBC.
[[pagebreak]][post_page_title]Baskin Robbins[/post_page_title]
Baskin Robbins may make some of the best ice cream on the planet, but have you ever spotted something peculiar about their logo?
There's a "BR" in the logo which obviously stands for Baskin Robbins, but it also stands for the number 31, which is a reference to the fact that Baskin Robbins originally had 31 flavors on offer.
[[pagebreak]][post_page_title]Amazon[/post_page_title]
We all love Amazon, don't we? I mean, if you haven't at least once bought something on Amazon, you must be living in the Stone Age. And while their logo may seem simple, it's actually a pretty effective marketing strategy...
You may wonder why there's an arrow pointing from the "a" to the "z". Well, that's to signify that you can get anything from A-Z at Amazon! Clever, right?
[[pagebreak]][post_page_title]Northwest Airlines[/post_page_title]
Although it may seem like a simple one, there's definitely more to Northwest Airlines' logo than meets the eye...
Their logo is definitely a lot cleverer than it looks - in the circle on the left, you'll quite clearly see an "N" for "Northwest", but it also doubles as a "W", as in NW (Northwest). But that's not all - it also depicts a compass pointing northwest with the little arrow.
[[pagebreak]][post_page_title]The Museum Of London[/post_page_title]
If you're ever in London, you should definitely take the time to visit the Museum of London. Its exhibition focus on everything from prehistoric times to the present day. And when you're there, you'll definitely see this colorful logo all over the place...
Now, at this point, you're probably scanning the logo to see if you can find the hidden message. Well, this one's a tricky one because it does very much look like a random combination of colors. It doesn't appear to be one thing and then double as another like a lot of the other logos on this list. Basically, the overlapping of colors represent the changing borders of London. Today, London is a HUGE city, but it wasn't always like that - just like Rome wasn't built in a day, London certainly didn't grow in a day.
[[pagebreak]][post_page_title]Milwaukee Brewers[/post_page_title]
The Milwaukee Brewers are a professional baseball team based in, you know it... Milwaukee. They're proud to have the town in their name... and the initials in their logo - can you spot it?
You're probably thinking "what initials? I can only see a catcher's glove holding a ball!" Well, look closely at the glove - you should be able to detect an "m" at the top and a "b" at the bottom. The "m" and the "b" connect to together to make the entire glove.
[[pagebreak]][post_page_title]Sun Microsystems[/post_page_title]
Sun Microsystems was an IT company that was taken over by Oracle Corporation in 2010. It's a shame the company no longer exists because their logo is pretty cool once you realize what the little "symbols" at the side are...
The word "sun" is a very important part of the company name - it's short, easy to remember, has positive connotations, etc. And the incredible thing is you don't just see the word "Sun" once in the logo - the little "symbols" at the side are actually the word "sun" written multiple times. You could be reading the logo upside down and still be able to see the word "sun"!
[[pagebreak]][post_page_title]Pittsburgh Zoo[/post_page_title]
Pittsburgh Zoo is one of the biggest zoos in the States. Plus the zoo also doubles as an aquarium, for those of you who think mammals are overrated. Whoever designed the zoo's logo is, in my humble opinion, a total genius...
You may be able to see the "hidden" image clearly enough in the picture above, but bear in mind, whenever the logo is normally displayed somewhere, it'll usually be a lot smaller. Anyway, just in case you haven't yet spotted it, the white spaces on either side of the tree depict a gorilla and a lion staring into each other's eyes. And that's not it! Look closely at the white spaces at the very bottom of the tree and you should see two fish!
[[pagebreak]][post_page_title]Quiksilver[/post_page_title]
Quiksilver is a surf-style shop that sells everything from backpacks to swimwear and predominantly caters to men. However, they do have their own "female line" called Roxy...
As you can see, the Roxy logo is basically the Quiksilver logo times two... In fact, the two halves on the Roxy logo form a heart, and we all know that girls are all about the heart!
[[pagebreak]][post_page_title]London Symphony Orchestra[/post_page_title]
Perhaps you're looking at this logo and thinking, "well, that has literally no meaning, never mind a double meaning." And okay, while I agree it does look a little simple to be hiding anything, that's the amazing thing about it. It gives us the illusion of being basic, but it's anything but that...
Firstly, the "scribble" spells out LSO, which is obviously the acronym for the London Symphony Orchestra. But this is the bit you have to look out for - the logo also doubles as an orchestra conductor!
[[pagebreak]][post_page_title]Eagle Consumables[/post_page_title]
Naming a company after an animal is always a brilliant idea, even if it has nothing to do with said animal. And why's that? Well, we have a clear image in our minds of what these animals look like, so include a picture of the animal in the logo, and it's about the most eye-catching thing ever...
Well, Eagle Consumables has absolutely nothing do eagle-related things that are consumable. They sell protective and disposable clothing for tattoo artists, dentists, vets, etc. However, they've taken advantage of the "E" in "Eagle" and that into an "eagle".
[[pagebreak]][post_page_title]BMW[/post_page_title]
BMW is over 100 years old now, so here's a little bit about its history... Before BMW started selling expensive cars, it produced engines for planes during World War One!
Believe it or not, the logo actually represents BMW's proud history of aviation production. Picture a plane up in the sky - well, the blue parts in the logo represent the sky and the white parts symbolize the propeller of a plane.
[[pagebreak]][post_page_title]Pinterest[/post_page_title]
Pinterest is a site that allows users to share their interests by "pinning" them on their boards.
If you look closely at the very first letter, you'll see that it isn't just a "P", but also symbolizes a pin!
[[pagebreak]][post_page_title]Gillette[/post_page_title]
We all know that Gillette sells razors, but did we all know just how sly the designer of the logo was? Nope.
Look at the "G" and the "i", then look at the diagonal lines that connect the two letters; they represent the sharpness of Gillette blades!
[[pagebreak]][post_page_title]Sony VAIO[/post_page_title]
Sony VAIO basically just sell laptops, but that's okay - they have a way cleverer logo than Apple...
So you'll probably be able to make out the "V" and the "A" in the logo now that I've pointed it out, but did you also know it's supposed to resemble an analog signal? If not, then you probably didn't know that the IO represents the digital signal.
[[pagebreak]][post_page_title]LG[/post_page_title]
LG is one of the biggest electronics companies in the world, and its logo is a funny one...
So you thought the only cool thing about this logo was the strange smiley face on the left? Well it's not, it's the fact that within the smiley face, there's an "L" and a "G" that you never noticed before!
[[pagebreak]][post_page_title]Continental[/post_page_title]
Continental is a tyre manufacturing company, so what should you expect to see in its logo? You guessed it - a tyre!
If you're struggling to find the tyre, I'll give you a little help - it's the bit that forms the circle between the "C" and the "n".
[[pagebreak]][post_page_title]Cologne Zoo[/post_page_title]
Cologne Zoo's logo may seem to be a simple elephant at first glance, but as usual, check the white spaces...
Can you see the rhino and the giraffe? But, of course, that's not the only clever thing about this logo - to the left of the rhino, there's Cologne Cathedral!
[[pagebreak]][post_page_title]Tour de France[/post_page_title]
Tour de France, as you probably know, is a cycling race held usually in France!
It should come as no surprise to you, at this point, that there is in fact a bicycle hidden in this logo. If you can't see it, just know that the "o" and the yellow circle are supposed to be the wheels. Oh, and the yellow wheel is also supposed to represent the sun. And now that you know where the bike is, can you also spot the cyclist? (Hint: look at the letter "r" in "Tour".)
[[pagebreak]][post_page_title]Galleries Lafayette[/post_page_title]
Galleries Lafayette is an expensive Parisian department store chain, and also the owner of a very cool logo...
Now, the writing may look "typically French", but there's something even more typically French, formed by the two "t"'s at the end. It is, of course, the Eiffel Tower!
[[pagebreak]][post_page_title]Formula One[/post_page_title]
This is another one of those "look at the white space" logos...
You can very clearly spot the "F" which stands for Formula, but the red part isn't the "1", the "1" is actually the hidden outline in the middle. The red bit is just supposed to be a symbol of speed.
[[pagebreak]][post_page_title]Unilever[/post_page_title]
There are so many details on this logo; you can definitely tell that a lot of work went into it...
There are a lot of little images contained within the big "U", and these aren't random additions. Every single one of the images is somehow relevant to the business whether it's to do with what they sell, or their ethical policies, etc.
[[pagebreak]][post_page_title]Shelter[/post_page_title]
Shelter is a British charity that focuses its efforts on combating homelessness. It even has a helpline so that homeless people or people on the brink of homelessness have someone to turn to for advice.
This one's probably a little easier to spot - the "h" is also a little house. This just serves to reemphasize the need for better housing for people in need.
[[pagebreak]][post_page_title]VIA[/post_page_title]
VIA is a Canadian railway company with a simple yet effective logo...
Between the "V" and the "A" the white lines symbolize train tracks. Okay, okay, this one's a bit of a stretch, but it was 100 percent the company's intention to have these white lines resemble train tracks.
[[pagebreak]][post_page_title]Goodwill[/post_page_title]
What is it with logos including smiley faces? Is it supposed to entice us to buy whatever it is they're selling us?
In this logo, that big white thing on the left-hand side isn't just half of a smiley face, it's also a bigger version of the "g" in "goodwill" at the very bottom. Just look for yourself!
[[pagebreak]][post_page_title]Beats Electronics[/post_page_title]
Beats by Dre headphones may be expensive, but they're some of the most popular brands for headphones out there at the moment. The company's logo looks like a simple one, but it's definitely left a lasting impression on a lot of people...
The best thing about this logo is that it doesn't overcomplicate things; it just looks like a simple "b" for Beats in a circle right? But that's not all it is! Just imagine the red circle is someone's head in a profile position, so you can only see one side of their face. Well, the "b" is supposed to represent one-half of the headphones covering one of the "person's" ears.
