All logos contain aesthetics and innovation, but the ones carrying hidden messages appear unique and leave the lasting impact. Brands often kept a hidden message in their logos for their targeted audience.
The approach showcases creativity, builds corporate identity, and set those brands apart from their competitors. Designing a logo containing brand’s message is a time-consuming process, but it’s beneficial.
Spending some time in research before beginning your design project will help you gather important information about brand’s target audience, competitors and what they want to achieve through their logo. You can also use various tools to build a logo of your choice with ease.
Brand logo examples with memorable hide messages
Here are a few examples of how brands incorporate messages in their logos and make them memorable.
FedEx
Known as one of the best logos, FedEx convey their message in the most simplistic way. If you look closely, you’ll see an arrow in the middle of the letters E and X depicting the precision and speed.
The brand belongs to the logistics industry, and it managed to stand out among the competitors by incorporating creativity and meaning into their logo. Apart from the hidden message, FedEx chose the color palette cautiously to make it memorable.
Amazon
Amazon is one of the companies that ace their logo. You may have seen the arrow in amazon’s logo but have you ever thought what does it signifies? The arrow is placed strategically from the letters A to Z. It represents a smiling face or relates to happy customers at Amazon. More importantly, the arrow showcases that you will find everything you need at Amazon from A to Z.
Le Tour De France
The tour de France is men’s multiple stage bicycle race program that organizes annually. Its logo is fun and catches the eye instantly. It is also one of the few logos that carry two hidden messages. The letters “O” and “R” in the word “tour” forms the cyclist, which is the first message. And, the second message is the yellow circle that represents levels of the race that occurs only in the daytime.
Baskin Robbins
If you are fond of ice-creams, you might be familiar with the brand Baskin Robbins. When you first look at it, you might not notice any subliminal message. But, the pink segments of the initials might catch your attention. The designer has kept the letters “B” and “R” in a manner that they form the number 31, which means the company sells 31 ice-cream flavors.
Toblerone
You can incorporate a company’s roots into its logo. And Toblerone’s logo is one of the best examples of it. The chocolate was founded in Bern, Switzerland which is also known as the city of Bears. The company decided to keep the outline of a bear using negative space of the Matterhorn Mountain, which is located in the Swiss Alps.
Cisco
Did you know Cisco is short for San Francisco? The telecommunications company was founded in San Francisco. Therefore, the lines also outline the city’s well-known Golden Gate Bridge. Also, if you observe, the lines in Cisco logo aren’t only lines, they represent a digital signal.
Adidas
If you actively take part in sports, you might be familiar with the name Adidas. The shoes and apparel brand has stripes in their logo that represent mountains. These mountains symbolize the challenges that customers might strive to endure every day.
Unilever
Unilever sells various brands under its name, which makes it the world’s biggest company. Unilever’s logo is a big “U” featuring twenty-five icons intricately woven to represent different products. For example, you will see ice cream, hands representing soaps and clothes representing laundry.
LG
LG’s logo is one of the recognizable logos. But have you noticed that the letters L and G are placed together to create a human face? The letter “L” represents a human nose and “G” completes the rest of the face. By giving a human element to it, LG’s logo makes the brand inviting and customer-friendly.
Apple
Thanks to its massive fan base, Apple’s iconic bitten logo got several meanings over the years. However, apple represents knowledge like it does in the story of Adam and Eve.
Google chose to rely on colors instead of opting for complicated symbols. You can see primary colors used in the Google’s logo. However, they have used secondary color to showcases that the company believes in uniqueness. The use of colors also represent that they promote fun in the work environment.
Sony VAIO
Sony Vaio can become the best source of inspiration if you want to integrate one or more hidden messages in a logo. The company also showcased its transition into the future using their logo. The designer decided to incorporate the ideas of analog and digital technology in a creative manner. The letters “V” and “A” represents an analog wave whereas the letters “I” and “O” depicts the binary from the digital world.
Audi
You might be familiar with luxury car brand Audi. But have you ever tried to understand the story behind the four circles in the logo? These circles represent the four companies; Wanderer, Horch, DKW, and Audi that established the Auto-Union Consortium in 1932.
Subway
In subway’s logo, you can clearly see arrows pointing in the opposite directions. These arrows represent the exit and entrance of the subway station depicting that scrumptious food that is available on the go.
Toyota
Developed in 1990, Toyota’s simple logo featuring three overlapping rings showcases the unification of their customers and products. The space in the background isn’t noticeable, but it depicts technological advancement along with the future opportunities.
Gillette
Whether you’re a regular Gillette consumer or not, you can get an idea about the quality of Gillette razors through its logo. Take a look at the letters “G” and “I”, the precise and intricate cut in those letters showcases that they have been cut using extra sharp Gillette razor.
Carrefour
The French word “Carrefour” translates to “crossroads” in English. That’s why the arrow in their logo is pointing in the opposite directions. Moreover, when you focus on the negative space available in the logo, you will spot the letter “C”.
Continental
Continental manufactures tires and their logo features the product that contributed to their success. The spacing in the logo showcases harmony and ease of use. There’s also a horse placed in the logo that represent, hoof buffers their trademark product.
The company doesn’t confirm it, but the letters “C” and “O” build a tire and aligns with their brand. Following their example, you can also incorporate more meaning and depth to your logo.
Chick-Fil-A
The well-known fast food chain Chick-Fil-A has the fun slogan “Eat Mor Chikin.” Therefore, you shouldn’t be surprised to see that the letter “C” in their logo represents a chicken.
Nintendo Gamecube
If you’re a 90’s kid, you might have played Nintendo Gamecube. The simplistic logo features a cube placed in a bigger cube. However, if you look closely, you can spot the letters “G” and “C” in the negative space given between the boxes.
Goodwill Industries International
The nonprofit organization work tirelessly to bring improvements to the lives of people and make them smile. Therefore, the letter “G” in the logo looks like a smiling face.
Tostitos
Tostitos isn’t only famous for tortilla chips and various dips, but for their logo as well. The brand contains one of the best hidden messages. Take a look at the two lowercase “T’s” in the logo that represents two people holding a tortilla chip. Moreover, the letter “I” in the middle of those “T’s” has the dot on top representing a bowl of salsa. Isn’t it cool?
BMW
Over the years, the BMW logo have gone through redesigning phases. BMW has become a relationship brand which their new logo depicts as well. They redo their logo in 2020 and enable it to showcase openness and clarity. The new variant is transparent and inviting.
The reason behind new design is to face challenges and opportunities that come with brand digitalization. With the new logo, the brand wants to appear flexible and showcases its presence online and offline. Moreover, the redesigning symbolizes relevance and significance of the brand to ensure future driving pleasure.
Why Brands Hide Message in a Logo?
By hiding your message in the logo, you can communicate the elements of your company. The message enables your customers or target audience to understand those elements instantly. The above examples of the logos showcase that design is the key factor when it comes to crafting the perfect logo.
Moreover, having a creative logo with a secret message gives your brand an edge and capture attention. For example, placing the arrow strategically under the letters “A” to “Z” in the Amazon’s logo highlights that you can find every item on their online store.
Amazon’s logo is simple but customers can resonate to it well. If you want your brand to standout, it’s essential that your logo should contain depth. On the other hand, a weak logo can affect branding and won’t take your brand further.
To build a memorable brand, it’s also necessary that your innovative logo integrates branding and meaningful messages. You need to protect it from getting pirated. You can also learn and explore how to copyright a logo.
On the other hand, you can consider incorporating the background story about it as well to make your brand interesting. When your customers find your brand engaging, they’re likely to learn more about it.
Summing it Up
There’s no denying that logo plays an essential role in branding and drawing your attention towards your brand. When you decide to create a cutting-edge logo, consider adding a hidden message to it. You can look to aforementioned brands for inspiration and standout in your industry.
Getting a professional and innovative logo isn’t a problem anymore. You can collaborate with creative or graphics designers, discuss your ideas and get a logo showcasing creativity and core message.
About the Author!
Anas Hassan is a design consultant at leading graphic design agency Logo Poppin. He has a deep interest in exploring trends of graphic design and digital marketing. His hobbies include tinkering with his projects and enjoying an occasional steak dinner.
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Informative Post!!
Wow, I’m so excited to know the hidden meaning of the famous logos
When hiding a message in your logo, it’s important to be subtle. You don’t want the message to be too obvious, or it will defeat the purpose. You also want the message to be relevant to your brand. If the message doesn’t have anything to do with your brand, it will be confusing and off-putting to your customers.