Carefully Curated Logos That Contain Hidden Meanings That We’ve Overlooked
By Peace L
If you pay close attention to the daily routine of everyday folks, you will notice that people follow a similar pattern. Everyone follows some sort of schedule in a relatively consistent manner every day. In the same respect, we unconsciously reach for items we use every day without giving them a second thought.
We can also say with confidence that we don’t pay any attention to the logos of these items. Our eyes tend to disregard things over time after we look at them so often, missing details that we never knew existed. Neglecting these minor details prevents you from noticing cleverly conceptualized logos, and several brand names sport quite complex logos in terms of meaning.
Everything has a purposeful meaning that connects back to the company’s fundamental message if you learn to read between the lines. Here’s a list of some of the most startling and hidden-in-plain-sight secret messages concealed in logos that you’ve overlooked.
Toothpaste Tubes
Most people are aware that toothpaste is for cleaning our teeth. Every toothpaste brand has a striped line on the back of the tube. A few people are aware of the meaning of this line, but we are finding that the majority of people have no idea what it means.
The striped line is a code that indicates the type of ingredients in the toothpaste. The color red stripe means that the toothpaste is made of natural ingredients and chemicals. Other striped colors like black mean pure chemical, green means all-natural, and blue means natural with added medicine.
Wendys Fast Food
Wendys is a classic American fast-food restaurant that was established in 1969. The Wendy’s logo has remained the same since the restaurant was first founded; only slight changes have been made to the logo. It’s a portrait of the founder’s daughter.
If you look closely, you will notice the word mom in the ruffled collar of Wendy’s top. Customers have interpreted this as Wendy’s meals being made with a mother’s love. A Wendy’s spokesperson said that they are aware of the hidden word in the logo, but the company did not intentionally place it there.
Pepsi Logo
The Pepsi logo was revealed after World War II. The three-part logo separated with a wavy line with the colors red, white, and blue is meant to represent the United Stated Flag. The brand spent millions of dollars on the logo to display its national pride.
Arnell group designed the current Pepsi logo. The colors red, white, and blue of the Pepsi logo also represent the theory of relativity, Pythagoras’ geodynamics, and the earth’s magnetic field. The logo is also claimed to have other meanings.
FedEx
The FedEx logo is a tricky optical illusion. The logo looks normal at first, so it’s easy for those without keen eyes to miss it. FedEx is an abbreviation of the company’s original name, federal express. In between the E and X, there is a white arrow.
Lindon Leader created the current FedEx logo in 1994. The white arrow pointing forward stands for the company’s speed and accuracy. The color of the “Ex” in the FedEx logo differs according to the branch FedEx freight, ground, or express.
Jeep Foot Rest
Jeeps have a lengthy and famous military history dating back to WWII. They are renowned for their outstanding performance, ample cargo space, and unmatched off-road capabilities. Someone spotted a Morse code pattern on their jeep footrest, and they couldn’t unsee it after that.
Jeep vehicles are designed to provide comfort on any road surface, including snowy and muddy terrain. Jeep owners have discovered some unexpected hidden features throughout their cars. They learned that the Morse code pattern translates to “rivers, sand, rock, and snow.” Fascinating!
Subway
This fast-food restaurant is famous for its sub-style sandwiches. Subway has made a few changes to its logo since its launch in 1965. The multinational joint was initially named Pete’s subway. The founders Fred de Luca and Peter Buck changed the restaurant’s name in 1968 to Subway.
The arrows in the current subway logo, which the business employed from 2016 to date, have hidden meanings. The arrows pointing left and right in the letters S and Y of the Subway logo signify where the exit and the entrance of a subway branch are.
Laptop Power Button
There are many symbols on a laptop that people are simply not aware of or feel that they’re too complex to learn. But did you know that the power button on a laptop also serves as a standby button? The power was created using the binary system zero and one.
The circle stands for 0, which means off, and the vertical line placed in between stands for 1, which means on. 0 and 1 were merged to create the power/standby button. When you push the power button, the laptop switches to standby mode.
NBC
The national broadcasting company’s current logo was used to highlight the company’s color programming in 1956. The logo became a part of the broadcasting company’s primary logo in 1979. The company itself designed the NBC current logo in 1987.
The logo was designed during the period when color televisions were just introduced. The peacock’s feathers’ different colors represent the broadcasting company’s various divisions. The red stands for entertainment, green for productions, yellow for news, orange for sports, purple for stations, and blue for the network.
USB Port
Due to the scientific revolution and industrial revolution, the use of technology in our daily activities has increased drastically. Almost every device comes with a USB port to charge portable devices and connect to external devices. There are several types of USB ports.
The USB symbol looks like a trident, and that’s not a coincidence. The arrow indicates serial data, which contains bits of ones and zeros that cover the information. The square symbolizes the negative voltage, often known as ground voltage, and the circle represents the USB’s operating voltage of 5V.
BMW Logo
BMW stands for Bavarian motor works or Bayerische Motoren Werke. The company, originally named Rapp Motoren Werke GmbH in 1913, officially changed its name to BMW in 1917. Several people believe that the BMW logo is an airplane propeller as the company used to make airplane engines.
Fred Jakob of the BMW group stated that the company made little effort to correct the myth that the BMW logo is a propeller. The BMW logo was designed to focus on the Bavarian state in Germany, which is the home to the automobile company.
Eight-Diamond Card
Several people have played with cards and never noticed the optical illusion in the eight of diamonds. People were quite surprised when a social media user revealed the secret, and people couldn’t stop raving about it in online forums.
Hidden between the shapes of the eight-diamond card is the number eight. People also checked other cards to see if they also had hidden numbers in them. Although it seems only the eight-diamond card has the shocking optical illusion.
Good ol’ Lincoln
Since 1909, the United States has produced the penny, its smallest currency. Victor David Brenner created the heads side and the original reverse, which depicted two stalks of wheat. The penny, which isn’t used that much anymore, has carried the face of former US president Abraham Lincoln since 1909.
The one cent, which has the portrait of the former American president Abraham Lincoln, isn’t as widely used as before. David Brenner, who created the portrait, engraved his initials on the former president’s shoulder so he would be remembered forever.
Toblerone Logo
In 1908, the Toblerone chocolate company was established. The brand name was derived from Tobler and Torrone, which means honey and almond nougat in Italian. Theodor Tobler and his cousin Emil Baumann from Switzerland created the unusually shaped triangular chocolate bars.
The word Toblerone and a mountain image that resembles the chocolate bar’s shape make up the brand logo. It is thought that the mountain is the Matterhorn, located in the Swiss Alps. If you look closely, a bear is hidden in the mountain on the logo. It occupies almost the entire mountain and stands on its hind legs.
Paramount’s Pictures
Paramount Pictures is one of the many movie studios that have produced blockbuster hits. Hodkinson, Jesse L. Lasky, William Wadsworth, and Adolph Zukor formed the company in 1912. The Paramount Pictures studio’s logo debuted in its original form in 1914.
The mountain in the Paramount logo is encircled by 24 stars. These stars, according to paramount, have two hidden meanings. They stand for the 24 actors whom Paramount had contracted with the studios in 1916. Additionally, the logo suggested that Paramount had more stars than the universe.
Hyundai Logo
The South Korean automobile company Hyundai was founded in 1967. The company’s current logo is a stylized ‘H’ which was introduced in 1990. However, the company made slight changes to the font and color of the logo in 2003 and 2017.
The Hyundai logo, which seems like a simple stylized ‘H’ representing the company’s name, has a hidden meaning. The ‘H’ also depicts the silhouette of the company and customer shaking hands in mutual agreement. You need to look at it for a minute to see it.
Barbers Pole
In the Middle Ages, barbers were known to perform bloodletting surgery and tooth extractions for customers aside from haircuts. The barbers used the pole to signify their craft, as many could not read during that period. The barbers’ pole also signifies what the patients gripped on to improve blood flow during the bloodletting process.
The colors of the barber’s pole symbolize something different. The color red represents blood, white symbolizes bandages, and blue symbolizes veins. The bloodletting procedure was believed to drain all the impurities in the body and cure customers of several conditions.
Tostitos
Tostitos is a sub-brand of Frito Lay that produces a variety of tortilla chips and dips. It was established in 1979. The brand’s logo has undergone some changes since its establishment. Tostitos original logo was a basic black and bold pattern with a red dot above the “I.”
The brand’s current logo, released in 2012, is more creative. The yellow triangular dot above the ‘I’ in the middle of the ‘Ts’ signifies a tortilla chip, and the letter Ts in the logo stands for two people. The red oval beneath the yellow triangle represents a salsa bowl.
Toyota Logo
Kiichiro Toyoda founded the Toyota motor corporation in 1937. The name of the Japanese automotive corporation was inspired by the name of its founder, Toyoda. Toyota was substituted for Toyoda because Toyoda is written in Japanese with ten brush strokes, whereas Toyota is written with eight.
The two non-parallel ovals within the larger oval in the logo symbolize the customer’s and the company’s hearts. The ovals overlap to suggest a mutually beneficial connection and trust. Also, the word Toyota is formed by the various parts of the logo.
Beauty Products
There are several symbols on many beauty products. Each symbol has its purpose and information it conveys regarding the beauty product, but many people are unaware of these. The symbols provide information regarding the product’s weight, expiry date, recyclability, and volume.
The symbol of an open jar behind a beauty product conveys how long the product will stay after opening it. The duration is usually given in months, so the number of months will be followed by the letter M. In the case of years, the letter Y will follow the number of years.
Baskin Robbins
Baskin Robbins is an American company that makes ice cream and other sweet treats. Irv Robbins and Burt Baskin founded the chain. Before combining their efforts and creating Baskin-Robbins, Burt Baskin and Irv Robbins were developing their ice cream businesses and recipes separately.
Since the company was founded, its logo has undergone several changes. The company’s current logo depicts a large BR. The brand name Baskin Robbins is represented by the letters ‘B’ and ‘R’ in the logo. Also, the number 31 highlighted in the letters represents the brand’s various ice cream flavors.
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty, also known as Lady Liberty, was a gift from France to the United States. Gustave Eiffel constructed the statue’s metal framework, and Frédéric Bartholdi created the statue’s design. For people from all over the world, the Statue of Liberty has represented freedom and liberty ever since it was erected in 1886.
Lady Liberty has proudly stood 305 feet and one inch tall in New York Harbor since 1886. To commemorate its 100th anniversary of independence, France gave it to Grover Cleveland, a former president. Seven rays surround the lady liberty crown, which is thought to stand for each of the world’s seven continents.
The Apple Logo
The multinational tech company Apple was founded by Steve Jobs, Ronald Wayne, and Steve Wozniak in 1976. Steve Jobs and Ronald Wayne designed the first version of the Apple logo. The initial logo included a badge framed by a flowing ribbon, on which the letters “Apple Computer Co” were inscribed.
Steve Jobs came up with the idea for the current Apple logo, which renowned graphic designer Rob Janoff created. Steve had recently adopted a fruitarian diet and visited an apple field when the inspiration struck. To distinguish it from other fruits, Rob Janoff recommended using the picture of an apple with a “bite.”
King of Hearts Card
Most people that play cards do not pay attention to the card design. Among the kings in a card, only the king of the king of hearts does not have a mustache. Workers lost the mustache during the replication of the original design.
The majority of English playing cards in use today are replicants of the original French models created in the 16th century. The first cards were printed on woodblocks to be mass-produced. Unskilled block builders altered the original designs, resulting in disfigurement.
Northwest Airlines
The Northwest United States Airlines was established in 1926. Since the airline launched, the company has changed its logo quite a number of times. When you first glance at the logo, you might think it’s just an ‘N’ in a circle with no real significance.
The logo designed by the Landor associates perfectly represents the airline company. The triangle in the logo serves as a compass pointing in the northwest direction. The ‘n’ and the triangle are also a ‘w’ using negative spaces. The company ceased operations and merged with delta airlines in 2010.
Coca-Cola Holiday Can
In 1993, Noma bar, who is an illustrator, created the Coca-Cola polar bears for a winter-themed commercial called the northern lights. The American company is well known for its holiday and seasonal-themed slogans. The Coca-Cola drink was created in 1996 by a pharmacist.
The Coca-Cola polar bear cans were discontinued for a while and were brought back in 2016. The company hid some symbols in the winter-themed cans. The eyes of the polar bears are bottle caps flipped upside down, and the shine on the bear’s nose is a bottle.
Goodwill Logo
Goodwill is a non-profit organization in the United States that offers job training and other community-based initiatives to people who face employment difficulties. Reverend Edward J. Helms created the company, which now operates in 17 nations and helps many people.
The warmth and readiness to assist are among the key values of the charitable organization Goodwill is conveyed through the company’s logo. Its religious roots are reflected in the original Goodwill logo. In addition to the smiley face on the logo, the lowercase “g” in the word “goodwill” also has a concealed smiley face.
Sony VAIO
The VA and IO make up the Sony Vaio logo. The acronym VAIO means Visual Audio Intelligent Organizer. Based on the company’s history, its progression into the future, and the development of technology, the Vaio company wanted a logo that was designed to have a profound meaning.
The Vaio logo symbolizes the combination of analog and digital technology. The “IO” in the logo symbolizes a one and a zero to indicate binary-coded digital transmissions, while the “VA” in the logo symbolizes a sine wave, the fundamental analog signal.
Le Tour de France
The Tour de France is a men’s multi-stage bicycle race held in France every year. To improve sales for the newspaper L’Auto, the race was first held in 1903. The current le Tour de France logo was made in 2002 by Joel Guenoun. No changes have been made to the logo since 2002.
The logo has an underlying meaning that provides information about the bicycle race. In the logo, the letters ‘o,’ ‘u,’ and ‘r’ in the word ‘tour’ and the bright yellow spot form a cyclist leaning forward on a bike. The yellow spot also signifies that the stages of the race are held only during the day.
Bluetooth Symbol
Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology introduced in 1998. It was named after King Harald Bluetooth Gormsson as the Bluetooth technology was created to unite devices the same way the king of Denmark unites tribes into a single kingdom.
The origin of King Harald’s nickname “Bluetooth” is still a mystery. Bluetooth is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances. The Bluetooth technology logo combines the Nordic runes for the letters ‘B’ and ‘H.’ The logo also forms the king’s initials.
Coca-Cola Logo
In 1886, pharmacist John Stith created the sugary drink Coca-Cola. The logo has undergone a few changes over the past 130 years of the company’s existence. The colors red and white of the logo represents passion, innocence, power, strength, youth, and love.
The Coca-Cola logo also has a coincidental meaning. In the ‘O’ of cola, it looks like Denmark’s national flag if you look closely. The company stated that this finding was unintentional. At Denmark’s biggest airport, Coca-Cola welcomed customers with flags.
Gillette Logo
Gillette is an American brand owned by PnG. The company produces razors and personal care products. The Gillette logo portrays an important fact about the brand at its products. The first logo they released had an arrow that pierced through the letters, and this was to indicate the sharpness of the razor blades.
The brand made changes to its logo in 2009. If you look closely at the Gillette logo, you will notice a diagonal line that cuts through the letter ‘I’ to ‘G.’ The diagonal line stands for the Gillette razor double blade and its precision.
Stardust Casino Logo
The Stardust Resort and Casino was a land-based casino resort started by Tony Cornero. The casino was situated in Winchester, Nevada, on 60 acres along the Las Vegas Strip. It debuted in 1958 as the biggest hotel in the world, and it’s a casino that has become legendary over time.
The Nevada Test Site was constructed in the 1950s. People in the area grew accustomed to seeing mushroom-shaped clouds since this site provided the military with a location to test nuclear weapons in public. The bursting logo for Stardust was motivated by this occurrence. Its doors were permanently closed in 2006.
Gas Gauge
The majority of car owners are not very knowledgeable about their vehicles. People often ignore certain signals in cars that are significant and make operating the vehicle simple. The gas gauge and other major indicators are located on the car’s dashboard.
There is a small triangle-shaped arrow next to the gas pump icon on the car gas gauge. It signifies which side of the fuel cap is located on the car. This helps people driving a rental automobile, car owners who forget easility, or those who don’t know where the fuel cap is located.
The image-sharing social media platform’s current logo was developed in 2016. Due to the semblance between the company’s logo and the mobile app path logo, Pinterest applied to register its emblem in 2012. Despite the US trademark office permission, the path company opposed forbidding Pinterest to trademark the stylized “P.”
The logo’s color is meant to depict the three qualities of the social media platform users: passion, love, and curiosity. The tail of the letter ‘p’ on the logo was sharpened and elongated to look like a pushpin. This depicts the platform’s service as users can create boards and pin images to them.
Unilever Logo
This British consumer goods multinational company was founded in 1929. It’s divided into three major Sections; Food and refreshments, home care, and beauty and personal care. The Unilever logo represents the natural world we inhabit. The logo is made of 25 symbols that each represent the company’s ideals.
The company logo represents its commitment to reducing environmental impact. Unilever’s logo depicts how the company sources raw materials and how consumers cook, clean, and wash using the company’s products. The Unilever logo of a simple ‘U’ that contains several icons is unique.
Hershey’s kisses
Hershey’s kiss is one of the top best chocolate brands. In 1907, the company launched its first Hershey’s kisses. Hershey’s company is an American multinational company, and the logo has gone through a series of changes from the 1800s to date.
The company hid an extra Hershey’s kiss on every bag of Hershey’s kisses candy. A Hershey’s kiss is mounted sideways between the letter ‘k’ and ‘I.’ You can turn the pack sideways to get a better look at it, but we are pretty sure no one knew about this one.
Bread Ties
Bread ties are something individuals come across almost every day, yet they are unaware of what their colors mean. The bread ties provide information regarding the product’s manufacture day. This helps individuals easily identify whether a loaf of bread is stale or fresh.
The different colors of bread ties represent the day of the week the bread is produced. The color blue means the bread was baked on Monday, white on Friday, green on Tuesday, yellow on Saturday, and red on Thursday. Most bakeries deliver only five days a week.
Beats by Dre Logo
The consumer audio products company beats electronics LLC widely known as beats by Dre, was founded in 2006. The beats logo is a white lowercase ‘b’ in the middle of a circle, and this represents the brand name. However, it has a double meaning.
The beats electronics company logo also looks like a head side profile of someone wearing the beats headphones. The company never changed the logo as it perfectly represents the company and its products. It serves as a proper marketing strategy.
The Atlanta Falcon’s Logo
The American football team, the Atlanta Falcons, was founded in 1965. The professional football team’s logo is the falcon bird’s side profile made to look like the letter ‘f.’ The first Atlanta falcon logo slightly resembled a Nazi symbol, so further changes were made to it.
The team’s current logo was redrawn in 2003, and no further changes have been made to date. The Atlanta falcon logo represents strength, victory, and superiority. The bird’s face was redesigned and given sharper features. Compared to the 1966 version, the current logo appears more vicious.
Amazon Logo
The eCommerce company Amazon was founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos. The company’s initial logo was amazon.com spelled out. Initially, Amazon was an online Book store. The company later expanded to sell a variety of products, from food, clothing, furniture, and more.
In 2000, the company changed its logo. The logo was Amazon’s company name, spelled out with a curved yellow arrow beneath the letters ‘a’ to ‘z.’ The curved arrow represents the customer’s smile of satisfaction. The arrow stretching beneath the letters ‘a’ and ‘z’ also means that you can find any product from a to z on amazon.