In this post I want to show you 80 famous logos with hidden or subliminal messages.
These messages are used by designers as creative resources to create memorable brands.

We all see thousands of logos without realizing it in our daily lives, and with advertisements that bombard us uncontrollably, we learned to ignore them naturally.
Large companies invest significant budgets to design their brands that allow them to stand out from their competitors.
Many seek that their logos have an allegorical representation of their activity, their values, their history or the geographical place to which they belong.

Creating a memorable logo that is easily remembered, and at the same time conveys a message, is not easy.
That is why designers make strategic use of subliminal messages that strengthen the identity of a brand.

Read my article The most complete guide to understanding logos for more information

What are hidden or subliminal messages?

A hidden or subliminal message is a low intensity signal designed to pass below (sub) the normal (liminal) limits of perception.
There are certain things that our brain is capable of capturing but that our eyes cannot see with the naked eye.
But paying attention, we begin to read very interesting messages between the lines, which reveal the versatility and creative capacity of designers.
Once we recognize them, we react in surprise: "Oh, that means that!"
In many cases, these are designs or messages that attract more attention due to the controversy that surrounds them than because of their effect on people.

Do they exist? Of course they exist, and we see them in advertisements, movies, songs, works of art, architecture, in religions and in political speeches.
Deciphering these messages requires reflection, analysis, and some mental and conceptual effort.
But from there to believing that they come to determine role models in society, it is something else entirely.

Subliminal messages have always created controversy and a halo of mystery among people.
Many times they can be used maliciously, in fact we have all heard about movies, advertisements or songs with satanic, sexual, offensive or racist messages.
Either way, when you discover that an image or object has a hidden meaning, it will pique your curiosity and fascinate you.
That is the true power of subliminal messages.

Subliminal messages as a creative resource in brand design

The logo is the sign that gives identity to a company.
It is used so that, at a glance, the consumer knows how to associate those words, shapes, colors or images with the brand in question.
Logo design is closely related to people's psychology, since it is associated with a mental and visual representation, which hides many subliminal messages.
The psychology of color, shapes, semantics, perception and synthesis are elements that are very much taken into account in the creation of logos.

The most famous examples of logos with hidden messages

Next, I am going to show you a compilation with the most relevant examples.
Some are logos of very famous brands and others not so much.
But they all give us a clear example to easily understand what these hidden messages are about and their semantic value when creating allegorical brands to companies that
Surely many of them will surprise you, and without seeing the relevant explanation of the logo you could never have discovered what
We will also meet their designers, anecdotes during their creation, and the reasons why these brands are the way they are, taking into account their history, their institutional values and the messages they want to convey.

FedEx

You probably didn't realize that there is a blank space between the "E" and the "x".
In it you can clearly see an arrow that, subliminally, conveys the idea of speed and precision.
Both are core values of the Federal Express company, which makes it a world leader in shipping and parcels.
Freedom and creativity combined with a blank space. The result? More than 40 design awards.

Lindon Leader, author of the FedEx logo redesign, knows the visual impact of playing with negative spaces.
"Direction, speed and precision" were hidden under that arrow that was drawn in a vacuum, and that many designers wanted to fill with color.
"They did not understand it, it was not the arrow, but the subtlety that makes it intriguing," said its author.

Amazon

Amazon is the giant of online shopping and its logo reflects that concept.
It was designed in 2000 by Turner Duckworth under the supervision of company founder Jeff Bezos.

The orange arrow of the logo leaves the letter "a" and ends in the letter "z", indicating that they sell all the products you want, from a to z.
The arrow also represents a smile, in which the tip is a stylized dimple or a line of expression, which gives a wink of sympathy, joy and confidence.
This smile represents the happiness that people feel when they buy on Amazon, since the company wants the best customer satisfaction, offering a friendly service.

The black typeface demonstrates Amazon's superiority and dominance in the online retail market, which has been demonstrated by its financial metrics.
The bright orange color detracts from the formality of the logo and adds energy and appeal.
It also symbolizes pride and happiness, showing how Amazon works and thinks.
This great logo has become a benchmark in world brand design.

Toblerone

Do you see only a mountain?
The Matterhorn is the fifth highest peak in the Alps at about 4,500 meters high, and probably the most famous for its peculiar pyramidal shape.

The Toblerone brand is very famous in the world for the triangular prism shape of its packaging.
Its packaging contains a mountain range of chocolate blocks that we can section, which adds a distinctive feature to the bars of traditional tablets.

But this Swiss chocolate brand has the silhouette of a perfectly defined bear on the mountain in the negative part of the logo. Did you notice it?
It is a tribute to Bern, a Swiss town known as “the city of bears”, where Theodor Tobler and his cousin Emil Baumann created the company in 1908.
So representative is this animal for the town that it even appears on its official shield.

Toblerone's original logo openly featured a bear alongside an eagle that carried the flags of Switzerland and Bern.
In addition, within the name Toblerone the word Bern hides

Cisco

The Cisco company is a benchmark in the telecommunications market and takes its name from the final part of the word "San Fran CISCO "
Its logo is inspired by its famous suspension bridge: the Golden Gate.
It uses 9 vertical lines to represent electromagnetic waves, which evoke said bridge and represents a connection between the past and the future.
The color red symbolizes responsibility, passion and willingness to work hard to achieve greater success. The color blue represents tranquility, optimism, fame and prosperity.
The current Cisco logo resulted from the cooperation between the Cisco branding team, Joe Finocchiaro and Jerry Kuyper.

Camel

Belgian-born graphic designer Fred Otto Kleesattel, known as “Fritz,” was hired to design the packaging for the new line of Camel cigarettes.
During World War I, he worked as a camouflage artist, concealing buildings, vehicles, and other potential targets to make them blend in with their surroundings.

There are urban myths about supposed subliminal images hidden within the camel artwork.
It is said that Fritz did not like Camel's marketing manager.
So he introduced into the design a drawing of a Manneken Pis, the most famous statue in Brussels, inside a camel's foot.

Vaio

Vaio is a brand of personal computer manufacturers, which was part of Sony.
Their logo was created by Timothy Hanley and is one of the most interesting logos ever.
The Vaio logo consists of two parts of the word mark: “VA” and “IO”
"VA" forms an analog wave, while "IO" represents the 1 and 0 of the digital binary code.
This reflects the visual identity of the brand as an integration of the two technologies.
The movement from left to right resembles progress and the step towards future innovations and technologies, without stress and with confidence.

One more curiosity about the brand name is that its pronunciation resembles the word "Vio-let".
This is manifested in the first models launched on the market that were purple or had an element of that color.
However, the logo's color palette is monochrome, conservative, and elegant. It is a perfect option to accentuate the hidden meaning of the name, by not catching the attention of the colors.

The Vaio logo is timeless and sophisticated, its smooth lines evoke a sense of calm and welcome.
In addition, the explanation of the meaning adds authority to the brand and reflects its technology and research values.

Quiksilver

Quiksilver is an American company specialized in the manufacture of surf, skate and snowboard equipment and clothing.
The famous Quicksilver emblem was created in 1973 and never changed. The founders of the brand were the ones who designed the image.

Its logo symbolizes a wave and a mountain, the elements of nature most characteristic of two of Quiksilver's sports, surfing and snowboarding.
The logo is inspired by "The Great Wave off Kanagawa" by the artist Katsushika Hokusai.

Roxy

Roxy is the feminine version of the Quiksilver brand.
On the one hand, there is a clear link to Quiksilver, on the other hand, the logo has a noticeable feminine touch.
At first glance, the Roxy logo may look like just a stylized representation of a heart.
However, if you look closely, the heart is created from two mirrored copies of the Quiksilver emblem.
In addition, it represents the gesture of making a heart with both hands.
This unusual approach establishes a bond with the parent brand Quicksilver, and creates a unique and romantic image with a feminine identity at Roxy.

Tostitos

Tostitos one of the most popular brands of tortilla chips in America, owned by Frito-Lay, a division of PepsiCo.
With its classic festive theme, this aperitif has in its logo two people sharing and enjoying a tortilla chip between the two "T", and just below, the point of the "i" is its corresponding sauce pan for spreading or dipping.

Starbucks

A mermaid with two tails is the image that characterizes the most famous chain of coffee shops in the world.
Just as the brand manages to seduce more and more customers every day, the history of its logo has a lot to do with powers of attraction and spell.

In 1971, the then university students Jerry Baldwin, Gordon Bowker and Zev Siegl had a business idea.
They needed to find a name and an image that would seduce people.
All three loved coffee and used to get together to read and comment on readings; one of the favorites was Herman Melville's Moby Dick.
This is how they decided to baptize their cafeteria as "Starbucks", in homage to the character Starbuck, first officer of the Pequod ship, in which the plot of Moby Dick takes place.

If the name referred to a story about sailors, the logo should also be related
For this they called designer Terry Hakcler, who was looking for an image that reflected the seduction of caffeine to people.

Seduction, sailors and coffee seemed to be difficult ideas to connect.
But it was exploring ancient books that they found the right image: a fifteenth-century two-tailed mermaid.
Just as it is believed that mermaids seduced sailors and made them forget their plans and objectives until lead them to their deaths, Starbucks should seduce people into addiction to its products.

Carrefour

The name of the Carrefour Group comes from the first store that was opened in France, which was located at a crossroads.
That is why the company decided to name it Carrefour, which in French means "crossroads"

The logo, at first glance, symbolizes precisely the two paths. In it there are two figures that represent arrows pointing in opposite directions, one blue and the other red.
The gap between them generates a blank letter "C", alluding to the French origin of the brand.

Spartan Golf Club

This logo is one of the best I have seen for its impeccable execution and subtlety, since it brings together the concept of golf and a Spartan warrior, in direct allusion to the name.

At first glance it is a golfer taking a swing, unfolding its trajectory to the side of his body.
But if we look away and taking into account the space of the negative, we can see the helmet of a Spartan soldier and the body of the player himself makes up his face.

Levi’s

The objective of some companies is to convey that by using their products, you will improve some part of your life.
In this case, it is clear that the message has to be that with their product you will look more attractive than normal.
What has Levi’s done with its logo to convey that data?
You have cleverly concealed the part of the body that most people want to highlight when wearing jeans.

Hope for African Children Initiative

This logo is also double-sided and also looks like a game of optical illusions.
At first glance we can see the map of Africa, but its counter-forms show us an adult and a child in dialogue, as a sign of help and hope.

The Rolling Stones

Many think that the design of the ionic tongue was created by Andy Warhol, but it is not.
The reality is that Mick Jagger asked a young student at the Royal College of Art in London named John Pasche, a logo representing the group's record company, in exchange for 50 pounds.

The first time the logo came to light was on the inside sleeve of the "Sticky Fingers" album in 1971, the cover of which was designed by Andy Warhol. Hence the confusion about the authorship of the famous symbol of the group.
Some believe that the logo represents the unmistakable face and mouth of Mick Jagger, and something has to do with it, but not entirely.
“When Mick asked me to create a logo for Rolling Stones Records, he showed me a newspaper clipping showing the Hindu goddess Kali, with a pointed tongue, hanging down ”, John Pasche says.

Versace

Gianni Versace was a great Italian designer who gained his fame by producing elegant clothes, accessories and luxury items and managed to build an empire through his brand that still persists.
In 1976 Gianni Versace, together with his brother Santo, created the Gianni Versace company.
But it was only in 1993 that the famous head of Medusa Gorgon appeared in the company logo.
Fue diseñada por el propio Gianni Versace, quien explicó que deliberadamente se decidió por esta imagen mitológica.

The jellyfish was a symbol of hypnotic beauty, as if it were a secret that was brought to life. She made people fall hopelessly in love with her.
The designer expected his collections to produce the same magnetic effect.
The Versace emblem is made in the style of geometric graphics, and is a graphic representation of the marble statue of Medusa Rondanini.

Gorgon is represented at the moment when she turns from a beautiful woman into a terrible monster, destroying all living beings. It is at this moment that she acquires an extraordinary power that is felt in this symbol.
The emblem is surrounded by a ring of Greek keys. This decorative pattern consists of lines that twist to form a labyrinth, and is another typical Versace design motif.
The Medusa Gorgon head is used in all Versace products, from clothing to accessories.
The brand does not have a specific color scheme. This allows you to freely include it in any product without conflict with your own color scheme.

NBC

The NBC logo has a couple of hidden meanings.
It is clear that it represents a peacock, but why?

The logo was developed in the days of the beginnings of color television, and that explains the rainbow of color.
The network wanted a logo that would encourage owners of black and white televisions to make the switch to color.
So the station used the popular slogan of those years: "As proud as a peacock" to promote the pride they felt in their new color system.
The six colors of the pens represent the six divisions of NBC.

Night Golf

The designer was able to see a crescent moon in the texture of the golf ball, and the effect of its craters illuminated at night.
Several concepts are combined in this logo: moon, night, ball, round, outdoors, light, darkness.

London Simphonyc Orchestra

This elegant and clean logo, it could not be otherwise, being a symphony orchestra, it is just an anagram with the initials LSO.
Despite its simplicity, it depicts a conductor waving his baton and with his arms raised.

Presbyterian Church USA

Las religiones están llenas de simbolismos y alegorías.
In this logo the designer managed to integrate 8 icons that represent the fundamental elements of the Presbyterian Church in the United States.
These are the cross, the pulpit, the dove, the fish, the chalice, the fire, the Bible, and the Trinity.

Hartford Whalers

Hartford Whalers was a professional ice hockey team from Hartford, Connecticut (United States), which existed from 1972 to 1997.
This logo shows 3 concepts: The tail of a whale, the W for “Whalers” and the white spaces draw the H for “Hartford”.

Global Movement for Children

The Global Movement for Children is the worldwide movement of organizations and individuals, joining forces to build a world fit for children.
The GMC seeks to promote global campaigns to defend children's rights and the accountability of governments to their children.
Its logo symbolizes the imprint of a helping hand, which reaches out and unites people in the same common purpose throughout the planet.

Pioneer

The Pioneer brand has always been synonymous with good quality in speakers and sound equipment.
Its old logo hides several meanings:
A Greek letter omega that indicates the unit of measurement (omhs) of speaker impedance.
A tuning fork that represents the fidelity of the tuning of the musical sound.
It also represents a headset and a microphone.

Baskin Robbins

Popular ice cream chain Baskin Robbins has 31 flavors on its menu.
The pink color of the final part of the "B" and the initial part of the "R" make it very clear, which also serve to create the brand's own logo.
The logo evokes fun and energy, sensations that you will most likely experience during and after eating their ice cream.

LG

LG is a brand recognized around the world and most people recognize the “L” and “G” in the isotype, which represents their slogan “Life is good”
For this company , life is as fun as the Pac-Man game that has entertained many generations, and whose main character can be composed with LG's own logo.
Also, more clearly, you can see a smiling face: The “L” forms the nose and the “G” forms the rest of the face.
This gives the brand a human element and makes it more attractive and accessible.

Airbnb

The logo includes four images that speak about the company: the silhouette of a person with open arms, the geolocation symbol, a heart and the letter "A" for Airbnb.

Airbnb talks about itself and speaks directly to its users: people who love to travel and who, in the experience of hosting, see an opportunity to meet new people.

Le Tour de France

This logo contains two hidden messages: The first is a little more obvious, the cyclist who is formed with the letters "OUR"
But the second is more disguised, and that is that the ocher circle that constitutes the bicycle wheel is also a sun.
This indicates that race events occur only during the day and in summer.

Milwaukee Brewers

This old logo for the Milwaukee Brewers, a professional baseball team from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, looks like a baseball glove catching a ball, but it is more than that.
If you look closely, you can see that the baseball glove is made up of the letters "m" and "b".

Galeries Lafayette

Galeries Lafayette are large luxury department stores located in Paris.
Its typography is not only elegant and sophisticated, but also, the two letters "t" hide an Eiffel Tower that reinforces its French origins.

Greenlabs

This a digital marketing and web solutions company uses a tree as its logo.
This accentuates the “green” part of its name, but what about the “labs” part?
The top of the tree is, in fact, a human brain that represents the intelligence of the company's personnel.

Museum of London

The Museum of London logo has an interesting and organic look.
The color shapes are not really just abstract blobs, they represent something: they show the geography of London and its changes over time.
They represent the constant transformations that the city and its inhabitants have undergone in the past and present, as well as the changes that will come in the future.

Big Ten Conference

Big Ten is a union of academics that was founded in 1896.
Until 1990 this union consisted of 10 universities, but in June 1990 the Pennsylvania State University was added.
And since they didn't want to rename it, they just subliminally added the number 11 to the logo.

Audi

The Audi car logo may seem absent of symbology, but the four rings that make up the logo represent each of the four companies that merged to create the brand: Audi, DKW, Horch and Wanderer.

Beats

Beats Electronics is a division of Apple, specializing in audio-related products, and is especially popular for its on-trend headphones.
Their logo apparently no more than a white b on a red circle, but represents a human head in which the letter “b” forms the brand's headphones.
This gives the brand a personal element that allows the consumer to see themselves in the hearing aids.

My Fonts

My Fonts is an online typographic resource that allows users to access a large number of typographic fonts.
The word “My” is stylized to look like a hand, thus conveying the message that users can dip into any source they want.

The Swan & Mallard

Designed by John Randall, this restaurant's logo takes visual mastery to another level.
The negative space of the swan not only hides a black duck, but also the swan forms the symbol "&" and seems to hug the duck with its neck.

BMW

This famous German car brand was linked to aviation in its beginnings, so there are those who interpret the central part of its logo as rotating propellers. The white quarters represent a helix, while the blue sections symbolize the sky.
But although this may seem like this, it was not an original intention. According to the New York Times, the brand was registered in 1917, but the propeller wasn't created until 1929.

What does it mean then? The blue and white colors represent the Free State Bavarian colors.
The reason it looks like this is because the use of a national symbol in a trademark was illegal, so the colors are arranged in a reverse order.

Unilever

Unilever is a multinational company that makes all kinds of products, from personal care products, sauces, detergents to ice cream and soft drinks.
For this reason, it has reflected in its logo the diversity of products it offers and the values it wishes to convey.
They can be identified in it from a heart, a bird, a fish, a hand, a sweater, lips, a bee, etc.

Lion Bird

This logo is a perfect example of visual manipulation.
Did you see the bird or the lion first? They are both there, although the lion is barely hinted at.
The body of the bird forms the face of the lion and your eyes fill in the rest with negative space.
The lion represents the way the brand attacks its profession, while the bird represents its power.

Picasa

Picasa, Google's image editor and organizer, has an interesting logo.
At first glance it looks like a simple camera shutter, but the negative space in the center of the shutter actually makes up a house.
This is because Picasa is the "house" of all your photographs.

Goodwill

This Google service to facilitate donations to NGOs, has a "happy" logo.
The very "G" that appears in the upper left as in the name itself, evokes a smiling face, to associate with the happiness that donations to non-profit organizations treasure.

Continental

This company is one of the leading tire manufacturers.
With a little visual acuity you can see how the first two letters of your logo make up the image of a tire with its corresponding rim.

Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium

The logo we see is very detailed, but that has a reason: the tree creates in negative the profiles of a monkey, a feline, some birds and some fish that seem to jump out of the water.
The logo thus shows the richness of the zoo and its aquarium and that the animals are in a natural and protected habitat.

Sun Microsystems

This logo was created by Professor Vaughan Pratt of Stanford University.
Through a very clever design using a "U" shaped picotgram, he made it possible to read the brand name from any direction you look at it.
Technology company Sun Microsystem was bought by Oracle in 2010.

Nike

It is undoubtedly one of the most referential logos and represents one of the most famous sportswear brands in the world.
Most people think that the Nike logo is a pipe, and that is how the brand is known, and the association is logical because of the shape it takes, but this is a mistake.
Nike is the English adaptation of the name of the Greek goddess Nike, the goddess of victory.

En 1968, cuando Phil Knight decidió dejar atrás el nombre de «Blue Ribbon Sports» que llevaba su empresa, decidió buscar algo que se asociara con el ganar y que transmitiese la idea de movimiento y acción.
Thus he searched in Greek mythology until he found Nike. The final accent soon disappeared and thus began a story of success and worldwide diffusion.

Interestingly, the logo was developed by graphic design student Carolyn Davidson, who was inspired by the shape of the Greek goddess's wings. Phil and Carolyn met at Portland State University, where he taught accounting, and Davidson presented him with his invoice for a total of $ 35 for his design.
In 1983, Knight gave Davidson a gold and diamond ring in the shape of the Nike logo, and an envelope full of stocks. from the company as a thank you and bonus for your work done.

Nintendo Game Cube

The Nintendo Game Cube game console has in its logo a very good example of how to integrate the product itself within the brand itself.
It is not just a cube integrated into another cube, the obvious bluish area represents a “G” while inside it, a “C” is integrated in the negative space
Treated with gradient colors that give depth and volume, the three-dimensional sensation of the two cubes is achieved.

Nvidia

This company makes the world's best video cards for computing and adopted its first logo three years after it was founded in 1993.
It was then that his central visual metaphor was chosen: an all-seeing eye.
This emblem has a long history and generally symbolizes "the eye of God", however, in this context, it has a different symbolic meaning.
Nvidia's eye is constantly searching for innovation and the future.

Yoga Australia

This Yoga Australia logo hides a small treasure in its negative space.
In the gap between the leg and the arm that is holding it, the silhouette of the map of Australia is formed.

Eight

This logo was designed by Stylo Design, a London advertising agency that has been more than successful in the idea.
The letters that compose it are always part of the same number eight, the word that gives the brand its name.

Northwest Airlines

NWA was one of the major airlines in the United States, founded in 1926 and absorbed by Delta Airlines in 2008.
The first thing we can see in its old design are the letters N and W, initials of the brand's name.
But what most people don't see is the compass pointing northwest, another reference to the brand name.
This triangle is also strategically positioned, so that when it is combined with the N of North, according to the W of West.
The new design sought to simplify the symbol and only kept the concept of a compass pointing northwest.

Pinterest

Pinterest the social network to share images where we can manage our images in collections or interests, they have a clear allusion to their name in the logo itself.

Pinterest's name comes from the idea of “pinning,” that is, taking things that interest you and tacking them onto a board.
To reinforce the idea of the "pin", the letter "P" represents a tack. This brings the digital age together with the real, physical aspect of taking something and pinning it to a wall.

The Bronx Zoo

Another good example of how to play with the negative of the logo.
Under the legs of the giraffes you can see the skyline of some of the most iconic buildings in New York City.

Toyota

Motorsports giant Toyota has a very elaborate logo and it takes a lot to decipher what it hides.
The three overlapping rings of the popular auto company symbolize the unification between Toyota products and the hearts of its customers.
The space in the background represents your technological advancements and the opportunities that lie ahead.
But far from what it seems at first glance, it is not a series of three linked rings without more, with them each and every one of the letters that make up the name of the brand itself are composed.

Eighty 20

This logo belongs to a company specialized in market analysis and big data.
It consists of two rows of squares and a message in binary code, which represents its own name.
The light color is equivalent to a 0 and the dark one to a 1, so that the first row is the number 80 in decimal (1010000) and the second the number 20 in decimal (0010100), which coincides with the name of the company itself.

Snooty Peacock

Snooty Peacock is a jeweler in Dallas (Texas) that specializes in making unique “one-of-a-kind” jewelry.
Designer Ryan Russell wanted to create a logo that captured the eclectic spirit of jewelry and the unique women who make it.

This brand is simple but exciting, with a design that shows the clever use of figure and background, creating a stylized peacock and the face of an eccentric woman wearing jewelry.
Peacock significa «pavo real» en inglés, y al igual que el logo de la NBC, el pavo real representa el «orgullo» de lucir las joyas.

Elettro Domestici

Elettro Domestici is an Italian electronics company.
Designed by Gianni Bortolotti, the logo uses negative space in an exceptional way, representing the two initials of the brand through the pictogram of a plug. (E and D)

Koelner Zoo

This logo of the Cologne Zoo (Germany) is an example of a good use of negative space.
In addition to having an obvious star for an eye, the lower part of the elephant shows from left to right the two towers of Cologne Cathedral, a rhinoceros and a giraffe.

New Man

At first glance, the logo for this French clothing company doesn't seem like anything special, but it does have a little visual trick.
The logo can be read exactly the same if it is rotated 360º.
This reflects the message that the company is innovative and that its clothing serves multiple purposes.

Washington Capitals

The NHL ice hockey team based in the United States capital (Washington)
It has in its logo the silhouette of one of the most emblematic buildings of the city: The Capitol, in the negative area placed under the head of the eagle.
It also makes good typographic use by turning the letter "t" into a hockey stick and using a simple script to refresh the puck.

XNA

This Microsoft API, conceived for the development of video games for the Xbox 360, Windows, Zune and Windows Phone 7 platforms, is now an abandoned project and the current MonoGame is based on it.
In its logo, the broken line that forms the X, hides the Morse code combination of XNA.

Yamaha

It is one of the most representative Japanese companies in the world, with a presence in multiple markets, it has the origins of the brand represented in its logo.
Before diversifying their lines of business they were dedicated to the manufacture of pianos and that is why their circular logo has three crossed tuning forks inside.
El diapasón representa la fidelidad y la calidad de los instrumentos musicales.
Al golpearlo suavemente vibra emitiendo una nota LA a 440 Hz, que ha sido tomada como medida universal para la afinación de todos los instrumentos musicales.

IBM

Las franjas blancas que atraviesan las letras del logotipo dan la ilusión de ser signos de igual en la parte inferior de las letras.
Esta imagen representa la equidad, valor fundamental de la empresa IBM.

Adidas

This German sportswear and footwear company is one of the best in the world.
The three stripes have always been part of their logo, but in recent redesigns the stripes have been staggered to simulate a mountain.
This mountain represents the challenges and obstacles that athletes have to face to achieve victory.
It also represents the idea of a triumphal podium in competitions, with 3 platforms at different heights.

Twitter

This name refers to chirping or chirping, and represents an ideal term to symbolize the purpose of the social network: to send messages to friends or followers briefly and instantly like the chirping of a bird.
In addition, the network is characterized by sharing messages by forwarding them.
This creates a thread or chain of messages, where the popular phrase "A little bird told me" can be applied to avoid revealing the true origin of the message.
It is with this meaning that the famous Twitter bird for its logo emerged.

NBA

The logo designed by Alan Siegel representing the NBA consists of a white silhouette dribbling under a blue and red background representing the United States flag.
The silhouette belongs to Jerry West (1938), also known as Mr. Clutch for his ability and dexterity in the last
moments of games.
He was a great basketball legend and one of the most sought-after players in the lakers between the 60s and 70s.

Hyundai

It does not seem so at first glance, but Hyundai's H is two people shaking hands, shop assistant and customer, the gesture that takes place after the sale of a car.
The honesty, trust and transparency that are represented in a handshake are the p0liars of this automotive company.

Gillette

Gillette is a manufacturer of razor blades and foams, and therefore has a literally sharp logo.
The intricate and precise cut through the “G” and “i” looks like it was carefully removed with a very sharp Gillette razor, representing the brand's flagship product.

Families

This logo designed by Herb Lubalin is an excellent example of the good use of fonts to convey a message without resorting to additional graphic elements.
The characters 'i' and 'l' suggestively form a family representing mother, father and son.

Mother & Child

Another great logo designed by Herb Lubalin.
It suggests the prenatal bond between the mother and the fetus that rests peacefully in her womb during pregnancy, connected by the umbilical cord.
The letter & represents the nexus between both beings and assumes the role of the baby about to be born, inside a very large womb represented by the letter O.
The immense typographic value of this logo shows us that just reading the word Mother gives us the message of pregnancy, without having to read the word Child.

McDonald’s

The well-known "golden arches" of the world's largest fast food chain refer to those that adorned its first restaurants.
When the company wanted to change the design, the psychologist Louis Cheskin made them give up on the idea, arguing that the M resembles a pair of breasts seen upside down, which unconsciously refer clients to their childhood.

Google

Google uses primary colors (blue, red and yellow) in its logo in a row and then breaks this chain with a secondary color, green.
This was done in a totally intentional way to show that Google is not bound by patterns and rules, and that they also know how to play by making symbols that stand out.
That is why the Google logo uses only very simple letters and colors.

Coca-Cola

The Coca-Cola logo is one of the logos that has created the most controversy.
If we look with a little imagination between the characters "o and l" the Denmark flag is hidden.
This has not always been their original intention. Coca-Cola discovered that part of its logo resembles the Danish flag, which has been named the happiest country in the world.
Once they figured this out, they set up the media stunt at Denmark's biggest airport, where they welcome people with flags.

Apple

Rob Yanoff, the designer of the Apple logo, revealed that the creation of the famous logo was thanks to some apples that he bought to paint them in a portrait.
When trying to simplify the symbol of the company, Yanoff wanted to place the image of the bitten apple since the word "bite" in English is bite, so it is translated as a term in computing (which is byte, like gigabyte, megabyte , etc.).

Black Cat

Designed by Hungarian artist Peter Vasvari for a Turkish TV production company, it has put the words vertically, so that the letters "C" are the eyes of a cat.
It represents the night and the mystery contained in the image of a black cat.

St. Julian’s Rowing Club

Another logo designed by Peter Vasvari (Hungary) for a rowing club in Poland
It represents the eco-friendly spirit of the institution, group work and team spirit where the objective is common: to row all together towards the same direction, joining forces and wills.

Wendy’s

If you look closely, on the neck of the girl's shirt you can read the word "mom", that's because the company wants to reinforce the concept that they serve fast food with a homemade touch.

British Blind Sport

The British Blind Sport charity makes it possible for the blind or visually impaired to participate in sports.
Their logo shows what appears to be simply a British flag.
The blank area in the center appears to only be there to make the word "blind" easier to read, but in reality, that area behaves like a pupil, while the outline of the flag forms the rest of the eye.
In addition, its shape is reminiscent of a rugby ball.

CodeFish

What is the hidden message of CodeFish?
That your logo is created from labels and typical programming symbols, thus creating a fish made based on code, as its name implies.

Breast

This Argentine clinic is dedicated to care and attention to prevent breast cancer.
Its logo clearly represents a breast where the nipple is replaced by a flower, putting life right where a disease can be generated, and inviting women to feel and self-examine to prevent the diagnosis of breast cancer.

Argentine Journal of Anatomy Online

Finally, a logo designed by me.
This is a scientific-themed magazine where articles related to the investigation of anatomical subjects are published.
The isotype hides several concepts: At first glance it is a letter "a" of Anatomy and Argentina within a curved rectangle.
This rectangle represents a slightly curved red page, simulating a magazine page.
The "a" is slightly rotated to the left, to suggest a drop of blood in the eye of the letter.
In turn, the red and white colors, with their shapes and negative spaces, represent the insertion of the muscles into the bones through the tendons.

Final conclusion

I hope you enjoyed this article and that it was useful to you.
La creatividad de los diseñadores de marcas nunca deja de sorprendernos y nos permite seguir aprendiendo siempre.
Mi objetivo en este trabajo es que conozcas las historias y motivos por las cuales las marcas son como son y cómo nos transmiten sus conceptos.

If you wanted to have your own brand and you consider that I am a suitable professional, do not hesitate to contact me.

In the Related Articles section below, you will find many articles with specific topics that complement the one you just read. Thank you!

>>> I WANT MY LOGO <<<

Adrián Pablo Conti

I am a Graphic and Web Designer graduated from the University of Buenos Aires (FADU-UBA)
Since 1993 I have run Web4, my own freelance graphic and web design creative studio, located in the City of Buenos Aires (Argentina)
Me I specialize in the development of visual identity, institutional communication, web sites and online stores, editorial design, catalogs, magazines and packaging design, among others.

All images shown in this article were obtained from the web for illustrative purposes and belong to their respective authors.

Websites consulted:

80 famous logos with hidden messages