World Most Famous Logos for Business Brands

Collection of famous logo designs will prove that simplicity is the key to a memorable logo.

Walt Disney Logo History: Animation is the transformation of still images turned into motion by constantly parading the stills, one after another. Through creativity, dedication and technology, this form of art can be advanced to great limits and even beyond imagination. Co-founded by Walter Elias Disney, the Walt Disney Company today has branched out to various entertainment studios, theme parks, products and other media productions with an annual revenue of approximately US $30 billion’. Walt Disney Castle LogoThe Walt Disney logo, like the company, has served as a beacon for decent family entertainment and worldwide recognition. The Walt Disney logo is a ‘stylized version of the founder’s signature’ that signifies the brand name and promises secure, cheerful and quality American mainstream entertainment. Other than the regular logo, the company uses different logos on its different products. A castle on a blue background version of the Walt Disney logo is used for the movie releases and as the curtain-raiser to its films. Walt Disney World LogoSimilarly, the Walt Disney signature with “World” added to it is used for the company’s resorts "Walt Disney World Resort", a Mickey’s head is adopted for the company’s Mickey Mouse Club and “Studios” was added to the Walt Disney logo signifying Disney Studios around the world. The original Walt Disney logo, to a large extent, has retained its uniqueness, however, over the time, different animations and styles were introduced in the Walt Disney logo to complement the entertainment quality and the technological breakthroughs of the era. No doubt, the Walt Disney logo has branded the company. [Logo Blog]

McDonald Logo History: McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of fast-food restaurants . Although McDonald's did not invent the hamburger or fast food, its name has become nearly synonymous with both. The McDonald's Golden Arches logo was introduced in 1962. It was created by Jim Schindler to resemble new arch shaped signs on the sides of the restaurants. He merged the two golden arches together to form the famous 'M' now recognized throughout the world. Schindler's work was a development of the stylized 'v' logo sketched by Fred Turner, which was conceived as a more stylish corporate symbol than the Speedee chef character that had previously been used. The McDonald's name was added to the logo in 1968.[Dinesh.com]

BMW Logo History: The BMW logo consists of a thick black ring encircled by a silver lining. The letters ‘BMW’ are inscribed in a non-serif font in the top half of the black ring.  The gap within the ring is divided into four equal alternative blue and white quarters. The BMW logo, commonly known as "roundel", was created and registered in 1917. The logo is remarkably simple and projects an identity that is smart, clear, sporty and image-conscious. It is one of the most distinctive logo designs in the world, speaking highly of a brand-led company. The 1929 Dixi was the first vehicle to carry the famous BMW logo. The BMW logo has been altered very rarely and minutely and has maintained its original look throughout the company's history. Here are some of the logos that have been used since 1917.[Logo Blog]

Puma Logo History: The first Puma logo was shaped in 1948. The similar Puma logo is still being used worldwide with little amendments in it. It delivers a clear notion of solid corporate position by its emblematic icon and brave typeface. Design Elements of Puma Logo: Puma logo grips a notion of strong and chic icon with the help of a leaping animal and bold font. A distinguished impression is immediately cast on the spectator, narrating the kind of image the company possesses. Shape of Puma Logo: As discussed earlier, the Puma logo comprises of a courageous representation. A leaping Puma, an animal known as cougar, panther or a mountain lion, is highlighted in the Puma logo. This Puma summarizes the power beast-like nature of the firm and its products. The Puma logo solely enhances the attributes of the firm’s reliability and its product’s aptitude in the international market. Color of Puma Logo: Few innovations have been taking place through the years in Puma logo. However, the identity has been kept quite similar to the first design brought forward for the firm. Currently, the Puma logo is wrapped graciously in black hue which depicts immense supremacy and strength of the firm itself. Font of Puma Logo: The complete Puma logo is a sign of authority and confidence. Nevertheless, the typeface of the Puma logo has maintained the same notion throughout its history in the corporate world. The bold font featured in Puma logo projects the firm’s stability and prominence. [Famous Logos]

Volkswagen Logo History: The origins of the company date back to 1930s Nazi Germany, and the project to build the car that would become known as the Beetle. Hitler’s desire that almost anybody should be able to afford a car fitted with a proposal by car designer Ferdinand Porsche (1875-1952) — although much of this design was inspired by the advanced Tatra cars of Hans Ledwinka. The intention was that ordinary Germans would buy the car by means of a savings scheme, which around 336,000 people eventually paid into. Prototypes of the car called the KdF-Wagen (German: Kraft durch Freude = strength through joy), appeared from 1936 onwards (the first cars had been produced in Stuttgart). The car already had its distinctive round shape and air-cooled, flat-four, rear-mounted engine, features similar to the Tatra. The copyright holder of the internationally-famous Volkswagen Logo is not to be Nikolai Borg. His suit against the Wolfsburg car concern has been dismissed by the Vienna Business Court. The judges did not deny in any way that Borg had drawn up the design in the 30s and had also delivered it. But the logo itself had already existed for a while prior to this. The 86-year old Borg, who comes from Sweden originally and now lives in the Tyrol, had taken action in the summer of last year against Volkswagen, because he wanted to bring about legal recognition of his copyright to the logo. He was not concerned about the money but about “historical truth”, announced his lawyer. According to this statement, the graphic artist Borg had been commissioned in 1939 by the then Reich Minister Fritz Todt to prepare designs for the Volkswagen emblem. After a logo had been delivered, he was then string along with the story that things were being postponed until after the “Final Victory”. However, when Borg discovered his logo on a vehicle belonging to the Army in 1943, he began to feel he was being cut out. Yet this action submitted by him sixty years later has remained unsuccessful. The court found in favor of Volkswagen. A certain Ludwig Hohlwein had already designed apposite logos in 1920, said an expert on Copyright and Patent Law, Michel Walter. The actual inventor of the Volkswagen emblem should however be viewed as Franz Xaver Reimspiess, whose original design had already been submitted in a trademark application from 1938. A more developed emblem which showed the letters in a so-called Strahlenkranz (radiant garland) was, according to Walter, displayed on wheel caps at the Berlin Auto Show in April 1939. Borg’s lawyer, Meinhard Ciresa, did not want to comment on the judgement for the time being. He wanted to first study the transcript in detail before he thought about the possibility of taking matters further.[Hicars]

Adidas Logo History: A name that stands for competence in all sectors of sport all over the world. Adidas was founded by Adolf (Adi) Dassler, who started producing shoes in the 1920s with the help of his brother Rudolf Dassler who later formed rival shoe company PUMA AG. Adi Dassler's aim was to provide every athlete with the best possible equipment. For this he followed three guiding principles: design the best shoe for the requirements of the sport, protect the athlete from injury, and make the product durable. Today, the Adidas brand product range extends from shoes, apparel and accessories for basketball, soccer, fitness and training to adventure, trail and golf. The company's clothing and shoe logo designs typically feature three parallel stripes, and this same motif is incorporated into Adidas's current official logo. For years the only symbol associated with Adidas was the trefoil (flower) logo design. The 3 leaves symbolize the Olympic spirit, linked to the three continental plates as well as the heritage and history of the brand. The "Trefoil" was adopted as the corporate logo design in 1972. In 1996, it was decided that the Trefoil corporate identity would only be used on heritage products. Examples of products featuring the Trefoil logo design include the Stan Smith, Rod Laver, A-15 Warm-Up, and Classic T-Shirt. In January 1996, the Three-Stripe brand mark became the worldwide Adidas corporate logo. This logo represents performance and the future of the Adidas branding identity. It has become synonymous with Adidas and its dedication to producing high-quality athletic products to help athletes perform better.[Logoo Range]

Audi Logo History: The Audi badge the 'Four Rings' is the emblem of one of the oldest car manufacturers in Germany. It symbolises the 1932 merger of the four independent motor-vehicle manufacturers: Audi, DKW, Horch and Wanderer. Together with the NSU brand, which joined in 1969, these companies are the roots of the present-day AUDI AG. After the war the Audi name - which is Latin for "Hear!" - disappeared, but was revived in 1965, using the four rings as a logo. Also, the name is sort of a pun on 'hoerch', German for 'hear', name of one of the founders.  The company itself is more than a century old. The new logo, released in September 2009 changes the font and also improves on the 3-dimensional aspect of the rings. The logo shown on the left was the logo in place before 2009. The 4 rings are almost identical to the current logo, apparently its hard for the casual eye to notice. The Audi font is different.   The four rings in the logo have nothing to do with the Olympic rings. The Audi logo is a registered trademark of the Audi Corporation. Use of the logo here does not imply endorsement of the organization by this site.[Dinesh.com]

LEGO Logo History: Lego Logo was a version of the Logo computer programming language which could manipulate robotic Lego bricks attached to a computer. It was implemented on the Apple II computing platform and was used in American grade schools in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Six people, in North America, Europe and Asia, have become Lego Certified Professionals, certified artists that use Lego bricks as their medium. The Lego Group recognizes their efforts and they have the ability to not only use the Lego name and copyrighted logo, but have earned a special, in-depth relationship with the company. They are Robin Sather, Dan Parker, Sean Kenney, Nathan Sawaya, Rene Hoffmeister and Nicholas Foo. The search engine Google paid tribute to the 50th anniversary of the Lego patent by replacing its usual logo on the Google homepage with one made from Lego bricks, along with the Lego figure on one of the letters.[32] Some of the hardware Google's founders had used during their early research was housed in custom-made enclosures constructed from Lego bricks.[Wikipedia]

Apple Logo History: Apple's first logo, Wayne, depicts Sir Isaac Newton sitting under an apple tree. Almost immediately, though, this was replaced by Rob Janoff's "rainbow Apple", the now-familiar rainbow-colored silhouette of an apple with a bite taken out of it. Janoff presented Jobs with several different monochromatic themes for the "bitten" logo, and Jobs immediately took a liking to it. While Jobs liked the logo, he insisted it be in color to humanize the company. The Apple logo was designed with a bite so that it would be recognized as an apple rather than a cherry. The colored stripes were conceived to make the logo more accessible, and to represent the fact the monitor could reproduce images in color. The logo is often erroneously referred to as a tribute to Alan Turing, with the bite mark a reference to his method of suicide. Both the designer of the logo and the company deny that there is any homage to Turing in the design of the logo. In 1998, with the roll-out of the new iMac, Apple discontinued the rainbow theme and began to use monochromatic themes, nearly identical in shape to its previous rainbow incarnation, on various products, packaging and advertising. An Aqua-themed version of the monochrome logo was used from 2001–2003, and a Glass-themed version has been used since 2003.[Wikipedia]

Coca-Cola Logo History: Coca-Cola is the world’s most popular soft drink. Sold in more than 200 countries, it is produced by The Coca-Cola Company and is often simply referred as Coke. Originally intended as a ‘patent medicine’ when it was invented in the late 19th century by pharmacist John S. Pemberton as a ‘coca wine’, Coca-Cola has dominated the worldwide soft drink market for decades now. The Coca-Cola logo, like the product itself, is rated among the most recognized logos and brands in the world. The first Coca-Cola logo was created by John Pemberton's partner and bookkeeper, Frank Mason Robinson, in 1885. Thinking that the two Cs would look well in advertising, it was Robinson who came up with the name and chose the logo’s distinctive cursive script. Coca-cola Bottle- The typeface used, known as Spencerian script, was developed in the mid 19th century and was the dominant form of formal handwriting in the United States during that period. The red and white colored scheme in the Coca-Cola logo was kept simple and distinctive to lure young minds. Even the Coca-Cola bottle symbolized the ‘youthful exuberance of America’. Since then, various designs of the Coca-Cola bottle had been released over the decades. But the ever popular version is the famous 1915’s curved-vessel bottle called the “contour bottle”, better known to many as the “hobble skirt” bottle. Though mistakenly designed as cacao pod, the bottle like Coca-Cola logo has been highly popular and is often regarded as the best design ever. The Coca-Cola logo was first advertised in the Atlanta Journal in 1915 and also appeared on the display of Pemberton’s pharmacy. A Coca-Cola dispenser with a Cola-Cola logo was later created by Raymond Loewy. The Coca-Cola logo got registered as a trademark in 1887 and has since then become the brand’s corporate identity. [Logo Blog]

Aston Martin Logo History: In 1913, Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford founded a company that later would become Aston Martin. At the time, Martin & Bamford Limited produced Singers racing cars, but the duo wanted to create a more sophisticated model of their own. They named their first car Aston Martin after the founder Lionel Martin and the Aston Clinton hill climb racing course where their Singers car had won previously. We can’t talk about Aston Martin without mentioning James Bond. In 1959, Ian Fleming put his super spy James Bond in an Aston Martin DB Mark III. When it was made into a movie in 1964, Bond drove an updated, supersleek silver Aston Martin DB5 (complete with machine gun, passenger ejector seat, and revolving number plates!) Interestingly, Ian Fleming himself didn’t drive Aston Martin. He preferred the 1963 Studebaker Avanti![Neatorama]

Royal Enfield Logo History: Mid 19th century England. The firm of George Townsend & Co. opened its doors in the tiny village of Hunt End, near the Worcestershire town of Redditch. A firm specializing in sewing needles and machine parts. In the first flush of enterprise, flitting from one opportunity to another, they chanced upon the pedal-cycle trade. Little did they know then that it was the beginning of the making of a legend. Soon, George Townsend & Co. was manufacturing its own brand of bicycles. And in 1893 its products began to sport the name ‘Enfield’ under the entity Enfield Manufacturing Company Limited with the trademark ‘Made Like a Gun’.[Royal Enfield]

Lee Logo History:  Lee is a brand of denim jeans, first produced in 1889 in Salina, Kansas. The company is owned by VF Corporation, the largest apparel company in the world. Its headquarters are currently in Merriam, Kansas, just outside of Kansas City, Missouri. The company states that they are an international retailer and manufacturer of casual wear and work wear and that they have more than 400 employees in the United States. The company was formed in 1889 by Henry David Lee as the Lee Mercantile Company at Salina, Kansas producing dungarees and jackets. The growth of Lee was prompted by the introduction of the Union-All work jumpsuit in 1913 and their first overall in 1920. Later in the 1920s Lee introduced a zipper fly and continued to expand. Around this time, the first children's overall line was sold. In 1928 H.D. Lee, founder and president of The H.D. Lee Mercantile Company, died of complications following a heart attack. During the 1930s and 1940s the company became the leading manufacturer of work clothes in the US. In 1944, the Lazy "S" became the official Lee back pocket. A flood wiped out Lee's Kansas City distribution center. It ruined the entire stock of merchandise, except the Buddy Lee dolls, which floated. In 1954, Lee expanded into casual wear. During the 1960s the company expanded to 81 countries and in 1969 was acquired by VF Corporation, becoming a brand. Denim made the crossover into the fashion market and bell bottoms are welcomed with open arms by Vietnam protesters. Lee aired its first television advertisement, which promoted Lee western wear. In the 1970s Lee shifted its focus from the workwear business and began catering to fashion cycles. Lee created an all-new fit for women under the Ms. Lee label. A youth wear line for boys and girls was introduced. In 1996 started Lee National Denim Day as part of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Working with the Entertainment Industry Foundation, Lee National Denim Day has raised over $75 million to help fund breast cancer research programs.[Wikipedia]

Nike Logo History: There must be very few people who do not recognize the Nike Swoosh logo. With a big arsenal of superstars such as Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Andre Agassi, Shane Warne, Maria Sharapova, Venus and Serena Williams. This list is pretty long. The company takes its name from the Greek goddess of victory, Nike.  The Nike "Swoosh" is a design created in 1971 by Carolyn Davidson, a graphic design student at Portland State University. She met Phil Knight while he was teaching accounting classes and she started doing some freelance work for his company, Blue Ribbon Sports (BRS). BRS needed a new brand for a new line of athletic footwear it was preparing to introduce in 1972. Knight approached Davidson for design ideas, and she agreed to provide them, charging a rate of $2 per hour. In June 1971, Davidson presented a number of design options to Knight and other BRS executives, and they ultimately selected the mark now known globally as the Swoosh. Davidson submitted a bill for $35 for her work. (In 1983, Knight gave Davidson a gold Swoosh ring and an envelope filled with Nike stock to express his gratitude.) The logo represents the wing of the Greek Goddess.The Nike logo is a classic case of a company gradually simplifying its corporate identity as its frame increases. The company's first logo appeared in 1971, when the word "Nike," the Greek goddess of victory, was printed in orange over the outline of a checkmark, the sign of a positive mark. Used as a motif on sports shoes since the 1970s, this checkmark is now so recognizable that the company name itself has became superfluous. The solid corporate logo design check was registered as a trademark in 1995. The Nike logo design is an abstract wing, designed by Carolyn Davidson, was an appropriate and meaningful symbol for a company that marketed running shoes. The "JUST DO IT" slogan and logo design campaign communicated such a strong point of view to their target market that the meaning for the logo design symbol evolved into a battle cry and the way of life for an entire generation. Isn't it amazing how a small symbol we call a logo design can make a company into a huge success.[Dinesh.com]

Paramount Logo History: Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American motion picture production and distribution company, based in Hollywood, California. It has become the longest-lived American movie studio ever, in existence for 95 years. Paramount is owned by media conglomerate Viacom. The distinctively pyramidal Paramount mountain has been the company's logo since its inception and is the oldest surviving Hollywood film logo. Legend has it that the mountain is based on a doodle made by W. W. Hodkinson during a meeting with Adolph Zukor. It is said to be based on the memories of his childhood in Utah. Some claim that Utah's Ben Lomond is the mountain Hodkinson doodled, and that Peru's Artesonraju is the mountain in the live-action logo. The logo began as a charcoal rendering of the mountain ringed with twenty-four superimposed stars. In 1953, the logo was redesigned as a matte painting. In the 1970s the logo was simplified and the number of stars was changed to twenty-two. The logo was replaced in 1987, Paramount's 75th Anniversary, by a version created by Apogee, Inc. with a computer generated lake and stars. For Paramount's 90th anniversary in 2002, a new, completely computer-generated logo was created. [Dinesh.com]

Ferrari Logo History: All racing fans are very familiar with the famous Ferrari "prancing horse" symbol. The famous symbol of Ferrari is a black prancing horse on yellow background, usually with the letters S F for Scuderia Ferrari. The horse was originally the symbol of Count Francesco Baracca, a legendary "asso" (ace) of the Italian air force during World War I, who painted it on the side of his planes. Baracca died very young on June 19, 1918, shot down after 34 victorious duels and many team victories.  He soon became a national hero. Baracca had wanted the prancing horse on his planes because his squad, the "Battaglione Aviatori", was enrolled in a Cavalry regiment (air forces were at their first years of life and had no separate administration), and also because he himself was reputed to be the best cavaliere of his team. The Scuderia Ferrari logo Coat of Arms of the City of Stuttgart. It has been supposed that the choice of a horse was perhaps partly due to the fact that his noble family was known for having plenty of horses in their estates at Lugo di Romagna. Another theory suggests Baracca copied the rampant horse design from a shot down German pilot having the emblem of the city of Stuttgart on his plane. Interestingly, German sports car manufacturer Porsche, from Stuttgart, borrowed its prancing horse logo from the city's emblem. Furthermore astonishing: Stuttgart is an over the centuries modified version of Stutengarten (an ancient german word for "Gestüt", translated into english as mare garden or stud farm, into italian as "scuderia"). On June 17, 1923, Enzo Ferrari won a race at the Savio track in Ravenna, and there he met the Countess Paolina, mother of Baracca. The Countess asked that he use the horse on his cars, suggesting that it would grant him good luck, but it the first race at which Alfa would let him use the horse on Scuderia cars was eleven years later, at SPA 24 Hours in 1932. Ferrari won. Ferrari left the horse black as it had been on Baracca's plane; however, he added a yellow background because it was the symbolic color of his birthplace, Modena. The prancing horse has not always identified the Ferrari brand only: Fabio Taglioni used it on his Ducati motorbikes. Taglioni's father was in fact a companion of Baracca's and fought with him in the 91st Air Squad, but as Ferrari's fame grew, Ducati abandoned the horse; this may have been the result of a private agreement between the two brands. The prancing horse is now a trademark of Ferrari. I happen to live in Los Angeles and on a trip to the famous Rodeo drive in Beverly Hills, I happened to see three Ferraris in a space of 5 minutes, quite fascinating. [Dinesh.com]

Google logo copyright Google.

Google Logo History: The Google logo is a very simple logo made up of a simple font and some basic colors. It seems almost amateurish. The simplicity of the logo could possible represent the simplicity of the search engine. There are numerous debates/discussions on the web about the google logo. One discussion centered around the two O's in Google, representing infinity. The logo was designed by Ruth Kedar.  The logotype is based on the Catull typeface Every once in a while, you will see the Google logo change to represent a current topic  e.g The Olympics, World Cup etc. These logos are called Google doodles. The doodles are currently created by Dennis Hwang and he has created over 150 doodles since he started working at Google. Apparently, the first doodle was produced by the founders Larry and Sergey. The logo was created when they attended the Burning Man festival in summer 1999. They put a little stick figure on the home page logo in case the site crashed and someone wanted to know why nobody  was answering the phone. [Scribd]

Jaguar Logo History: Jaguar Cars Limited is a British based luxury car manufacturer, originally with headquarters in Browns Lane, Coventry, England but now at Whitley, Coventry. It was founded as the Swallow Sidecar Company in 1922,by two motorcycle enthusiasts, William Lyons and William Walmsley,  and changed its name to Jaguar in 1945. The company has been owned by Ford since 1989.    The Jaguar logo is a Jaguar leaping across the company name. The leaping Jaguart is possibly built to represent the speed, power and quickness of the car. The Jaguar emblem is also placed on the front of the car.[Passiondrive]

Starbucks Logo History: Starbucks Corporation is a coffeehouse chain based in the United States. Named after a character in the novel Moby Dick, it is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with over 7500 self-operated and 5500 licensed stores in 39 countries. The current company logo, modeled after a 15th century Norse woodcut, is a mixoparthenos, or “twin-tailed mermaid, or siren as she’s known in Greek mythology. The company and the logo have an interesting history. In Jan 2011, Starbucks released a new version of the logo with a couple of big changes and some subtle changes as well. The two major changes made to the logo are They removed the name of the company “Starbucks Coffee”. Their intention behind this maybe to expand the brand to beyond coffee. They have been talking about expanding into breakfast and there was also talk of a Bar/Lounge concept. This makes sense if they want to expand but maybe they should have kept the name “Starbucks” and removed “Coffee”. They also removed the circle around the Siren and the logo now features just the Siren. The logo has some subtle changes including smoothing her hair, refining her facial features, weighting the scales on her tail to bring the focus to her face. The logo refinements were done by Lippincott.[Novinaerwiningsih.com]

Abarth Logo History: Abarth is an Italian racing car maker founded by Italian-Austrian Karl (Carlo) Abarth in Turin in 1949. Abarth was sold to Fiat on July 31 1971, and the racing team sold to Enzo Osella. Abarth became the racing department of Fiat, managed by famed engine designer Aurelio Lampredi. The Abarth logo consists of the following key elements The shape of the logo represents a shield which symbolizes the notion of victory. You can find some of the other racing logos like Porsche also have a shield in their logo. The red, white and green represent the colors of the Italian Flag. The scorpion is the key part of the logo and represents the astrological sign of Karl Alberto Abarth who was born on November 15th 1908. The red and yellow colors apparently represent the racing world. [bizaims.com]