Photography & Digital Art,Home & DesignSEP 9, 2010

30 Clever Logos With Hidden Symbolism

Lina D.BoredPanda Staff

I am sure every panda enjoyed laughing at Top 15 Worst Logo Design Fails Ever but let’s be fair here, and look at some of the best logos. To be more specific, let’s have a look at creative Logos With Hidden Messages.

As we wrote earlier, the first feature of a good and effective logo is that it can immediately “grab” the viewer’s attention with its visual elements. A clever design might even give viewers a hidden meaning in logos. Everyone likes puzzles, right? When viewers get the hidden messages behind the famous logos, there’s this instant feeling of satisfaction, and something fun like this gets people talking and sharing.

Even if the viewer cannot see the meaning of it immediately, the second somebody explains it will definitely turn it into a memorable logo and make it stick into their head for a long time. Likewise, a great logo redesign can freshen up a brand’s identity and convert people into new customers.

Now let’s jump to the list of the most creative and clever logo inspirations, and learn from the best! There are lots of different types of logos here but each one has its own secret message. See if you can spot them before reading the explanation!

1. Circus of Magazines

Circus tent looks like a magazine (more like a book to me, but still very clever). (Designer: logotomy)

2. Backspace

Just looking at the logo makes you want to press "backspace" and correct the typo. (Designer: JoePrince)

3. Barcode

Notice that the word "bar" is darker. (Designer: Sean Heisler)

4. To beat or not to beat?

The question mark is made of a belt.

5. Bipolar

The Logo depicts ambiguous emotions. (Designer: Siah Design)

6. Bird

Letter "B" is also a bird. (Designer: Peter Varsvali)

7. Cafe Click

Coffee steam is made of mouse pointers (Designer: Leo)

8. Amazon

The arrow from A to Z, symbolizes what Amazon is known for selling everything from “a to z”. It also serves as a smile, making the company feel friendly and approachable.

9. City Direct

"Notice how the space around the plane forms the letters C and D." (Tobias) (Designer: Logomotive)

10. Elefont

There's an elephant trunk inside the letter “e”. (Designer:m1sternoname)

11. Formula 1

Empty space in the middle creates a number "1" for “Formula 1".

12. Families

Those 3 letters in the middle ‘i’, ‘l’, and second ‘i’ represent a family (father, mother and a child, or 2 fathers and a child in some countries).

13. F*ck!

A bit provocative logo against nazism and racism. (Designer:Karl Design)

14. FedEx

If you look closer you’ll notice the right-pointing arrow in between the ‘E’ and the ‘x’, representing the precision and speed at which FedEx works.

Update: Anyone else see the spoon in "Fed" of Fedex? (@lissnup)

15. Half

(Designer: wunjo)

16. Iron Duck

A hanger looks like a duck. (Designer:Siah Design)

17. Yoga Australia

The woman is making a pose that forms the Australian continent between her leg and her arm.

18. Killed Productions

The letter “i” is lying as if it was killed. (Designer: Ethereal)

19. Mosleep

Mosleep is an organization of doctors that helps people with sleeping disorders. The logo is their initial ‘M’ that was designed to also look like a bed. (Designer: Muamer)