Company logos are almost as ubiquitous in modern-day life as advertisements. Indeed, they are a form of advertising in and of themselves. We see them every day, but many people don’t see what’s lurking just below the surface: a hidden meaning. A logo can also be subtly telling something about the brand they represent. Here are a few that are more than meets the eye:
Beats by Dre
Minimalistic design which speaks to your fashion tastes has been quite popular among young entrepreneurs and students. This small-case b in a white circle seems to be a simple, straightforward symbol for this brand, at first. What people don’t realize is it’s also a person wearing one of the Beats’ headphones, but seen from the right side of their head. As a result, and without really knowing it, people are presented with the company’s main product before they even realize it.
The Au.Edubirdie Logo
This little, blue bird gives off the immediate message to people of being intelligent with its glasses and pointer. Picturing an owl, world-known symbol of wisdom and knowledge, it already seems to scream: “write my essay!” This representative of the Australian Edubirdie service does, however, have a slight nod towards its country as it is wearing a scarf that doubles as an Australian flag, but it also indicates its professional staff with a scholar’s cap on its head.
Toblerone
More than one college student has gobbled down a Toblerone while studying for an exam. This seemingly innocuous design does have one hidden symbol that most people never notice: The Coat of Arms for Bern, where it’s made, has a bear on it. The city’s name is also rumored to come from the word. As a result, the Matterhorn pictured in the logo also has a bear hidden in it.
The FedEx Logo
People see it on the side of company trucks every day, passing them by on the street. When people think of FedEx, they tend to think that the company has speedy delivery, but they might not know why. The reason why may be that there is a cleverly hidden arrow pointing to the right in their emblem, indicating that your package is already on its way!
Amazon
This company wrote a book on online shopping. It also contains a good education in symbolism as there are a couple of hidden treasures. The arrow on the logo starts at the “a” in “amazon” and ends at “z”, therefore implying that they sell everything from “a” to “z”! The arrow is also curved into a smile, subtly implying that you will have a happy shopping experience on their site.
Baskin Robbins
This well-known trademark features a fun capital B and R in the center of a circle, but it also contains a lesson in hidden symbolism. One’s immediate impression is that it simply gives the initials of the company. What the color scheme hides, however, is that this ice cream franchise also boasts 31 flavors.
London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra has a clever bit of symbolism hidden in plain sight. When one sees their emblem, they usually think of how it’s simply the initials, LSO, written in cursive, but this same logo can also be seen as a sketch of a conductor conducting his orchestra.
Le Tour de France
This more intricately woven design contains a couple of hidden symbols within what appears to be the name of the organization in a somewhat more unconventional font, but there’s more beneath the surface.
First, the word “Tour” is also the form of a person riding a bike. The circle that forms the second wheel of the bike is painted a solid yellow, subtly informing people that their events only take place during the daytime.
As strange as it may seem, it’s the hidden meanings of logos and how they relate to business that hasn’t just resulted in interesting articles on the subject, but there is at least one teacher at every college who incorporates the hidden symbolism of logo designs in their courses, and many students write papers on this very subject! It’s these hidden meanings that inform advertising and encourage people to buy, and why wouldn’t people want to know about that?
