Most Iconic Brand Logos of All Time
The visual identity of a logo can make or break a brand in the eyes of a discerning consumer. Throughout a single company’s history, various logos serve as indicators of values, loyalty, and togetherness.
Oftentimes, a logo signifies the presence of a product or movement we know all too while. When you see a McDonald’s golden arch, you think of big macs and french fries. When you see the BMW logo, you think of a slick car. When you see the Google logo, you think of searching for answers online. Beyond that, though, seeing a logo triggers how you feel about a company and what they provide.
It wasn’t easy, but we picked what we believe are The 50 Most Iconic Brand Logos and have provided histories for each. In some cases, the designer is undisclosed, and in other cases, there are multiple designers and founders. For some, we couldn’t include every single logo they’ve had throughout their existence, but we gave highlights. Nuances aside, the history of your favorite brand’s logo is an adventure in a much greater visual history that we are all involuntarily a part of. Enjoy.
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50. Goodyear
50. Goodyear
Year Company Founded: 1898
Year Logo Introduced: 1901
Logo Designer: Undisclosed
Company Founder: Frank Seiberling
In 1900, the Wingfoot symbol for the Goodyear company was chosen after the founder, Frank Seiberling, was inspired by a statue of the Greek god, Hermes. The idea of speed had a lot to do with Goodyear’s selection of the symbol, as well as the embodiment of many of the characteristics that Goodwill would be known for. The logo remains the same throughout the years, with the occasional color or font change.
49. Mastercard
49. Mastercard
Year Company Founded: 1966
Year Logo Introduced: 1966
Logo Designer: Future Brand (2005)
Company Founders: United California Bank, Wells Fargo, Crocker National Bank, Bank of California
Born in 1966 as Master Charge, the first MasterCard logo featured a logotype of “We Honor Master Charge: The Interbank Card” layered over two overlapping circles, one bright orange and the other a burnt orange. In 1979, Master Charge: the Interbank Card was renamed MasterCard, and the change was accompanied by a new logo for the company that featured brighter colors and a bolder logotype. In 1996, the logo was redesigned into the now iconic logo, which features a 3D logotype. The overlaying circles are depicted through stripes of each color rather than a third orange color.
48. Michelin
48. Michelin
Year Company Founded: 1888
Year Logo Introduced: 1888
Logo Designer: Undisclosed
Company Founders: Edouard and Andre Michelin
The logo for the Michelin company has always been the Michelin tire man, who’s shape, level of intensity, and size originated from the company’s early days. The tire man was inspired by a pile of tires that Édouard Michelin imagined to be a man when they were attending the Lyon Universal Exhibition. In 1989, the Michelin man was created by O’Galop.
47. Mobil
47. Mobil
Year Company Founded: 1911
Year Logo Introduced: 1911
Logo Designer: Chermayeff & Geismar (1965)
Company Founder: Vacuum Oil
Mobil Oil company began in 1911 but has roots in several oil companies that preceded it, such as Aladdin Standard Oil Co. and Gargoyle, a Mobil product line of lubricants for industrial refrigeration systems. In 1911, the pegasus was introduced with the founding of the company and has been modified slightly over time, until 1964, when Mobil simplified the logo to only include the company name with the signature red “O.”
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46. Volvo
46. Volvo
Year Company Founded: 1927
Year Logo Introduced: 1927
Logo Designer: Karl-Erik Forsberg (1950)
Company Founders: Assar Gabrielsson, Gustaf Larson
When Volvo was reactivated by financial backer Svenska Kullagerfabriken in 1927, the company adopted the ancient chemical symbol for iron—a circle with an arrow pointing diagonally upwards to the right. The logotype was updated in 1959 by Karl-Erik Forsberg and is the same logo used today.
45. Target
45. Target
Year Company Founded: 1902
Year Logo Introduced: 1962
Logo Designer: Undisclosed
Company Founder: George Dayton
The logo for Target has always been a red target, but when the store was just a small retail store in Minneapolis, the design was a bit more pronounced. The iconic red target logo is recognized almost everywhere, but in the earlier days of the brand, it had a bolded black “Target” across the entirely of the circle, to create a distinctive image in customers’ minds. The next logo introduced in 1980 consisted of a single ring and inner core, still in red, and the design on stores today is basically the same, with the retail chain’s name under it.
44. Fisher-Price
44. Fisher-Price
Year Company Founded: 1930
Year Logo Introduced: 1931
Logo Designer: Undisclosed
Company Founders: Herman Guy Fisher, Irving R. Price, Margaret Evans Price, Helen M. Schelle
Fisher-Price was founded in 1930 following a successful reception to their products at the American International Toy Fair in 1931. The first logo, which had text within an orange box with the company’s location, was used until 1955. In 1956, The FP was added (Fisher Price Toys shortened to Fisher Price), and the FP lasted until 1984, when the full name was brought back inside of a red banner.
43. Bayer
43. Bayer
Year Company Founded: 1863
Year Logo Introduced: 1881
Logo Designer: Hans Schneider (1904)
Company Founders: Friedrich Bayer, Johann Friedrich Weskott
With humble beginnings as a company manufacturing synthetic dyestuffs, Bayer did not develop a logo until 1881 when it became a joint stock company with greater distribution. The first Bayer logo centered around an illustration of a lion and was based off of the coat of arms of Elberfeld, the city where the company was headquartered at the time. After a series of revisionings from 1886 to 1895, the Bayer logo became an intricate drawing of a winged lion half-perched on a globe. However, after Bayer’s invention of synthetically-produced aspirin, and the introduction of the “drug of the century” onto the world market in 1899, Bayer had to simplify its logo in order to achieve recognizability around the world. Thus, in 1904, Bayer introduced the now iconic “Bayer Cross” logo. Designed by a Bayer employee, Hans Schneider, the logo of “Bayer” was written horizontally and vertically with an intersection at the “Y.” Initially, the logo was only imprinted on the aspirin tablets produced by the company, rather than being used in marketing or packaging, but it remains in use to this day and is still a key element in the brand’s image.
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42. 3M
42. 3M
Year Company Founded: 1902
Year Logo Introduced: 1906
Logo Designer: Gerald Stahl & Associates (1961), Siegel &Gale (1978)
Company Founders: Henry S. Bryan, Harmon W. Cable, John Dawn, William A. McGonagle, J. Danley Budd
The first 3M logo was introduced in 1906, and it featured a black diamond shape inside two rings. The outer band read “Minnesota Mining and MFG Co.” while the black diamond shape had “3M co” written diagonally and horizontally. The next evolution of the 3M logo occured in 1950, when it was reduced to a logotype of “3M Company.” The 1950 design kept the black-on-white design and the circular outline around the brand name, but this logo was much more distinctive and pushed the 3M brand name as the focus.
In 1961, 3M hired Gerald Stahl Associates to modernize their logo. The lettering became more angular, a common approach to modernization, but the company moved away from the black to a light blue. The brand name stayed distinctive, but the design was updated. In 1978, 3M introduced the red bold logo which remains in use to this day. “Company” was removed, and only “3M” remained to represent the brand. Developed by Siegel & Gale, the 1978 design is the most distinctive, with no elements distracting from the brand which plays a part in the iconic nature of the logo.