Logos can be just as important to a company as their products, services, and operations. It is an image that is ingrained into our minds and reminds us to patronize that business.
That’s why companies take their logos so seriously using meaningful symbolism and messages.
Here are some surprising facts about popular company logos you probably see every day.
Amazon
Amazon’s logo shows an arrow going from the A to the Z because you can find everything from A to Z on their website.
Pepsi
The makers of Pepsi spent a cool $1 million on the companies circular logo to make it irresistible to consumers. It was modeled after the golden ratio, which involves two quantities with a ratio that is the same as the ratio of their sum to the larger of the two quantities. It is believed to be a form that is most pleasing to the human eye.
Cisco
The company was founded in San Fransisco and their logo represents an electromagnetic wave as well as the city’s famous Golden Gate Bridge.
Apple
Apple’s original logo included Issac Newton sitting under an apple tree, however, Steve Jobs wasn’t quite satisfied with it. In 1977, Apple hired Rob Janoff to create the colorful rainbow apple with a bite taken out of it, which has since morphed into a solid color apple of the same design. According to Fine Print, there are various theories about the logo.
Among them that the apple commemorates the discovery of gravity and/or the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge and that the colors are a tribute to the separation of light. Some also say that it has a bite mark as a nod to Alan Turning, the father of modern computing, who committed suicide by eating a poisoned apple after being persecuted for homosexuality, but Janoff says this isn’t so.
He says he took a bite out of it so the apple would be distinct and not look like some other round fruit.
Starbucks
The current Starbucks logo is a censored version of the original which showed a topless mermaid holding her two fins. It symbolizes the myth of fairy or water spirit named Melusine that was sometimes depicted as a two-tailed mermaid that lured sailors.
Ferrari
The Ferrari horse was a symbol that was painted on Italian pilot Count Francesco Baracca’s plane. The emblem was given to Enzo Ferrari by Francesco’s mother after his victory in a race. She told him to paint it on his cars to bring him good luck. The horse remained black while the background is yellow which is the color of Modena. The SF stands for Scuderia Ferrari, Scuderia is a term used in auto racing.
Nike
Nike’s owner paid a student $35 in 1971 to create their logo, known as the “Swoosh,” which is a modern version of the wing of Nike the goddess of victory.
Wikipedia
Wikipedia’s logo was created by Paul Stansifer and symbolizes Earth and shows different puzzle pieces with letters from different languages to represent multilingualism. The missing puzzle piece shows that the internet encyclopedia isn’t finished and is always being updated.
The Pinterest logo is a simple one. Its P is in the shape of a pin because Pinterest allows you to pin interesting information to a digital board on the internet.
Android
Android’s robot logo was inspired by the symbol for a men’s bathroom sign.
Uber
Uber changed it’s U symbol to resemble a bit and the atom since they are building blocks of everything and can be found everywhere much like their cars.
McDonald’s
Yes, “M” stands for McDonald’s but they also appear to look like female breasts which sub consciously makes you hungry and reminds people of their childhood. McDonald’s hired a psychologist to come up with their logo design in the 1960s.
BMW
The colors in the BMW logo symbolize the Bavarian Free State and show the colors of the Bavarian flag the company’s home country.
Lacoste
Though René Lacoste didn’t get the alligator suitcase he spotted that was promised to him if he won a game, a journalist heard the story and said he fought like a crocodile. That became Lacoste’s nickname and the symbol of the company.
Bonus
This is not actually how the MGM logo was made! The photo on the left is actually fake and was created on the Internet – this lion is preparing for an MRI. The real MGM mascot goes by Leo the Lion. There have been 7 different lions uses for the logo. Although all of the lions have gone by Leo the Lion, only the current lion, in use since 1957 was actually named “Leo.”
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