Every day we see the emblems of famous companies, but we rarely think twice about their origins or meanings.
Creative Side found 12 stories that will uncover little known logo secrets and at the end of the article, there is a bonus for breaking a certain myth.
Interesting Facts About Famous Logos
Apple
Legend has it that the Apple logo was dedicated to Alan Turing, who ended his life by biting into a poisoned apple. In fact, everything is much simpler: Designer Rob Janoff says he made the bitten apple show its dimensions because an entire apple can easily be confused for any other round fruit.
Ferrari
Many think that the Ferrari logo symbolizes power, but that is not true. In his biography, Enzo Ferrari mentions that the horse’s silhouette was initially painted on the plane of the Italian pilot Francesco Baracca. The emblem was given to Enzo by Francesco’s mother after his career victory and later became the best-known symbol.
Wikipedia
It’s not surprising that the worldwide encyclopedia’s emblem is Earth. The pieces of the puzzle in which it is composed are a symbol of multilingualism, so each one is labeled with letters from different languages. Together, they form the word “wikipedia“, while the missing pieces indicate that the encyclopedia is not finished and is constantly being updated.
Android
Graphic designer Irina Blok and her team were tasked with creating a logo that included a robot and was easily recognizable. As fun as it sounds, the inspiration came from the symbols we usually see on the doors of public toilets.
McDonald’s
In 1962, the psychologist hired by McDonald’s Louis Cheskin. He suggested replacing the Speedee the Cook logo with gold arches, forming an “M”. He thought that this shape resembles female breasts, which unconsciously whets the appetite and reminds people of their happy childhood.
However, it’s worth mentioning that Cheskin did not invent these arches, and that they have been present in restaurants since the 1950s.
Lacoste
In 1923, René Lacoste was walking down the street with his team captain, Alan Moore, and noticed a crocodile skin suitcase in one of the windows. Lacoste and Moore bet that if René won the next game, Alan would buy him that suitcase.
Lacoste lost, but a journalist heard this story and wrote an article about a tennis player who had not won, but who “fought like a crocodile.” This is how Lacoste received his nickname, and his company later received the emblem of this reptile.
BMW
There are rumors that the BMW logo symbolizes an airplane propeller, and even some company employees share this view. However, everything is much simpler: blue and white were chosen to represent the colors of Bavaria.
Uber
Uber recently changed its logo from a “U” to something remotely like fragments of information or atoms. The company claims that the new logo represents its cars that can be found anywhere, as well as bits or atoms.
At first, it seems simple enough, but if you look closely at the first letter, you will see that it looks like a pin that we could use for papers or photographs. Pinterest literally “pinned” photos to the walls, but it does it electronically.
Nike
One of the most recognizable logos in the world is actually one of the cheapest. It only costs $ 35, that’s what company owner Phil Knight paid student Carolyn Davidson for her work in 1971, and at first, wasn’t even happy with the result.
It turned out to be wrong – the Swoosh emblem has become incredibly successful, and it’s no surprise that it’s often associated with a wing from Nike, the goddess of victory.
Starbucks
Few know it, but the Starbucks logo is a mermaid holding two of its rear flippers. This emblem was inspired by the myth of the fairy Melusine, a 2-tailed fish woman who married a mortal man. In 1971, the full image of the mermaid could be seen on coffee mugs, but then it was “censored”.
Pepsi
The Pepsi logo looks pretty simple, but it costs a lot more than you think: $ 1 million. The designers developed it according to the proportions of the golden ratio that are considered more harmonious and pleasing to the human eye.
There’s also another version of why it looks like this …
But this is obviously just a joke. Though if not drunk in moderation, the effects of Pepsi would be rather like that.
Bonus: The Metro Lion Goldwyn Mayer
This is definitely NOT how Metro Goldwyn Mayer created its famous roaring lion logo. Seeing the MGM Studios mascot since 1917, few know that seven different lions were actually used for this purpose.
They were properly tamed and trained to roar on the spot. As for the image currently roaming on the Web, it’s just a scam, of course. The lion is preparing for an MRI. Don’t believe it if you see it somewhere.
