7 Famous Logos and their Hidden Meanings

Whenever I create a new web site or blog that I want to scale into an authority site, one of the first things I do is create a killer logo for the site. Logos are awesome become they bring a sense of authority and professionalism to a site, even when it might be in it’s infancy.

Think about how a default WordPress theme looks the first time it’s installed. It’s usually plain, basic and used by millions of other blogs on the internet. Ever after you add a premium WordPress theme to the site, there is still room for creativity and ownership. All of that can be pulled together with a great logo — and that’s exactly what I did with this blog when I first launched it over 8 years ago!

In short, logos are awesome and they mean much more to businesses and brands than just being a name. In fact, some of the greatest logos in the world don’t even have names on them.

To stress this point even further, many of the world’s most famous logos have hidden messages within them as well — which is exactly what we are going to be looking at in this article.

Special thanks to Designhill for coming out with their own interactive chart on famous logos and their hidden meanings.

What Hidden Messages Do You See in These Logos?

There are hundreds (if not thousands) of logos in the world today that have hidden messages within them — each representing different components of their brands, how they were started and the services they offer. I hand selected a few of my favorites and showcase them for you below.

Amazon Logo

The largest online shopping site in the world is also one of the most famous logos as well. This can also be attributed to them stamping their big logo on the millions of packages they deliver daily.

While the Amazon logo has changed greatly over the years, in the year 2000 they made a simple, yet creative design change. Many people will notice what looks like a yellow “smile” under the amazon.com name, but it’s also saying that Amazon.com sells everything from “A” to “Z” — now you know!

Apple Logo

Most of us already have something with this logo in our homes or office, while the majority of us probably have it stamped on our mobile devices and laptops as well.

Of course it’s Apple, but why the bite out of the side of it? This was done by the original designer to make sure other people wouldn’t confuse it for a cherry or another fruit.

Also, this simple apple design wasn’t the original logo for the company (which can be seen here). The original had a picture of Issac Netwton sitting under an Apple tree — imagine that being stamped on the back of your phone!

Batman Logo

This one is easy right? It’s everyone’s favorite super hero… Batman!

But do you know why the Batman logo is oval, yellow and black?

Each of these features were put together to represent fearlessness, elegance, heroism and valor.

Beats Audio Logo

From Dr. Dre, to Apple and all the celebrities in between… Beats Audio has been all over the place.

The logo is clean and simple in itself, but the “b” instead the red circle can also be represented a headset or earplug.

Apple loved the logo (and brand) so much, that they recently acquired it for $3 billion!

Firefox Logo

Many of us use Firefox on a daily basis to browse the internet… but why then name FireFox, and why it is on fire and circling around the globe?

Firefox is the name of the browser from Mozilla, but the concept behind a fox tail on fire and circling around the world is to represent the browser’s “global reach and also it’s blazing speed” — hence their claim that Firefox can read the entire internet!

Goodwill Logo

If you’ve ever had the chance to drive past a Goodwill location, you will have probably recognized this logo — mostly because it looks like a half smile on the top portion of their logo.

However, the smiley face is actually a bit more. It’s a smiley face, a lower case “g” and the same “g” that is used in their “goodwill name”.

Who knew a “g” could make people so happy!

Toyota Logo

A logo that we all probably see on a daily basis is the Toyota logo, but what the heck is that symbol above their name?

The three ellipses on top are actually three hearts, each representing something different. The heart of the customer, the heart of the product and the heart of progress in the field of technology. The space that can be seen in the background within each of these hearts is meant to exhibit the “infinite values” in which Toyota stands for.

Not the easiest logo meaning to explain… but I’m sure you now know something 99.9% of Toyota owners don’t!

Want even more logos with hidden meanings?

Now that you know some of the design and branding aspects behind some of the most famous logos in the world, I’m sure you are just begging for more!

To see the full list of logo designs and their hidden meanings, click here to view the interactive chart from Designhill.com.

While at their site, I also recommend you take a look at their most recent whitepaper on how to create interactive content for your brand and business.