Without realising it, we are exposed to thousands of icons and logos in our day-to-day routine, and I am sure you rarely stop to see them. There are some very interesting and strategic hidden secrets to these logos that you would never have guessed, and here are 10 famous ones.
1. Apple
In 1977, Rob Janoff created the famous Apple logo. He bought a bag of apples and sketched them in all different shapes and angles, trying to differentiate it from a cherry. That is when he added the bite mark and realized the connection between “bite” and “byte.”
2. Toyota
All the letters of the company name can be found inside the logo, but what does the final symbol represent, you ask? It represents a needle and thread. The Japanese car manufacturer began making weaving machines before transitioning to vehicles.
3. Vaio
The connection of the first 2 letters V and A represent a digital wave form while the I and O was designed to look like a 1 and 0 to represent binary and the mix of analog and digital. Lastly, the actual melody on the laptop start-up mimics the tones of a telephone keypad typing the letters V A I O.
4. Hyundai
Like most people, I also thought that the logo must represent the letter H for Hyundai. It is the silhouette of 2 figures, a happy client shaking hands with the salesman. This is a strategic subliminal message of a successful car purchase.
5. Continental
At first glance, this logo appears very simple, and I encourage you to take a closer look. The first 2 letters C and O actually represent a car tyre, which is commonly overlooked.
6. Amazon
As a company, Amazon is always aiming to please its customers; hence, the arrow represents a smile, signifying satisfaction with the brand. Also the arrow starts at A and ends on Z signifying the company stocks every product you could ever want.
7. Toblerone
This delicious triangle was created in Bern, Switzerland. There is no surprise that the creator has used a mountain from the Swiss Alps in the Logo. What is surprising is that there is a hidden bear inside the mountain. This bear represents Bern as it’s known as the city of bears.
8. BMW
This famous German company started out manufacturing airplanes in 1916. Most people believe the chequered pattern within the logo represents spinning propellers. However, it originates from the background pattern of the Bavarian flag, from which BMW derived its name.
9. Domino’s Pizza
In 1960, Tom Monaghan, a college dropout, borrowed $1900 to buy a small pizza place named Dominic’s Pizza. 5 years later, he purchased 2 more locations, but the former owner refused to allow his name to be used in the franchise, so Tom changed the name to Domino’s Pizza. The dots on the domino represent the 3 original restaurants he purchased. The plan was to add more numbers as each new shop opened, but he didn’t realise the franchise was going to grow so big.
10. Unilever
Who is Unilever? You may not know the huge corporation, but you would know 1 of their 400 brands: TRESemmé, Cornetto, Streets, Lipton, etc. The logo found on the back of every one of their products is made up of 25 smaller icons, each representing one of the many products they cover.
Have a look next time you’re in a supermarket or strolling past a bus stop for logos with hidden meanings. Please let us know if you find a suitable one.