The Hidden Meaning In The Logos of Hyundai, Toyota and BMW

Hidden meanings is a favorite topic for logo designers, curious marketers or just some cool nerds. The car brands usually have logos which contain hidden meanings and that’s why we selected three big players from the industry and explored their logos. Hyundai, Toyota and BMW are on the desk.

Hyundai

hyundai-logo
hyundai-logo

What on H-letter could be hidden? It’s a relevant question to ask when someone talks about hidden meanings and mentions the Hyundai’s logo. The truth is that the South Korean company is presenting more than just a letter in its logo. Asian values is the keyword that hints the hidden meaning it this logo. Looking close in the H-letter we will see the shape of a handshake. A satisfied client + caring company = the perfect logo.

Toyota

toyota-logo-meaning-hidden
toyota-logo-meaning-hidden

If there are Olympic games for hidden meanings in logos, Toyota will get all of the gold for sure. This is probably the most multi-layered car brand logo we’ve seen by far. At its core the Toyota’s logo represents a stylised image of the eye of a needle with a thread passed through it. This is a hint at the company’s past, when they used to produce weaving machines. The symbol refers to each letter from Toyota’s name. And some of the letter shapes has it’s own meaning as well. This makes Toyota’s logo one multi-layered sign, that can offer a lot of meanings to the curious eye.

Toyota logo explained
Toyota logo explained

BMW

bmw-logo
bmw-logo

BMW’s logo has it’s own myth behind it’s meanings. It is more usual for you to hear about the myth, and then (if you’re lucky) the real story. According to the wide distributed rumor, which turned into myth the BMW’s logo is based on rotating aircraft propellers.

However, the original logo represents something more simple than a rotating airscrew. The blue and white sections in the sign mirror the blue and white colors of the Bavarian Free State. Apparently BMW took inspiration from the RAPP logo as well – the arrangement of the letters is clearly taken from there.

bmw-logo-rapp-logo
bmw-logo-rapp-logo

Do you know of other car brands logos rich on hidden meanings? Share in the comments.

/images by Flickr