# Symbolism Behind Company Logos **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 19, 2026, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/symbolism-behind-company-logos/1031027 "2026-06-19T20:32:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2026, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/symbolism-behind-company-logos/1031027/21 "2026-06-20T12:12:14Z")
The Peace symbol ☮ is made of the semaphore letters N and D, representing Nuclear Disarmament. [![](https://www.transum.org/Software/Fun_Maths/Code/Semaphore/Semaphore_Signals_A-Z.jpg) ](https://www.transum.org/Software/Fun_Maths/Code/Semaphore/Semaphore_Signals_A-Z.jpg) Toblerone [![](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQB3TIF4ioA6t4_GdRwGjZ_iqDfYqH1cu7ZxJvyrCyzTlw-5GISyiszP2Y0&s=10) ](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQB3TIF4ioA6t4_GdRwGjZ_iqDfYqH1cu7ZxJvyrCyzTlw-5GISyiszP2Y0&s=10) ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2026, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/symbolism-behind-company-logos/1031027/22 "2026-06-20T13:52:15Z")
The logo of the German steel giant Krupp (today Thyssenkrupp and in big troubles for years like the whole German steel industry) are three steel tires for locomotives, the product the company got big with in the middle of the 19th century. [![](https://rp-online.de/imgs/32/2/3/1/2/3/3/5/7/tok_cb989ed97203ff279b1cd90145c39646/w940_h528_x470_y264_f7fc56ca5e44b94c.jpg) ](https://rp-online.de/imgs/32/2/3/1/2/3/3/5/7/tok_cb989ed97203ff279b1cd90145c39646/w940_h528_x470_y264_f7fc56ca5e44b94c.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![a6ka97](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c2a13f/32.png) [@a6ka97](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a6ka97)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2026, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/symbolism-behind-company-logos/1031027/23 "2026-06-20T15:41:04Z")
3 come to mind right away. Amazon with the arrow going from A to Z because they sell everything from “A to Z”. Baskin- Robbins with the “31” as part of their logo. Chrysler and the pentastar representing the 5 divisions, Chrysler, Plymouth, Dodge, Desoto, Imperial. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2026, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/symbolism-behind-company-logos/1031027/24 "2026-06-20T17:44:43Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > and the arrow leading from A to Z in the Amazon logo. We’ve been Amazon customers for at least 25 years now and I don’t want to admit how very recently I noticed this for the first time. And I “noticed” it because someone pointed it out to me. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2026, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/symbolism-behind-company-logos/1031027/25 "2026-06-20T17:53:52Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > Too bad the cars weren’t as good as the logo. No, they were much better. Saturn made great cars. > [@pirviii](#): > > I’m still driving a 2002 Saturn. It’s made of plastic so it still looks pretty good. Yep, solid cars, very reliable. > [@robby](#): > > I took it as tongue in cheek We have a full assortment of emoticons to indicate you are kidding, being sarcastic, etc. Since none were used, the poster seems sincere in spreading that myth. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2026, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/symbolism-behind-company-logos/1031027/26 "2026-06-21T14:57:28Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Since none were used, the poster seems sincere in spreading that myth. FFS, he called it “their Dark Lord Satan”. That screams satire. ---
**Author:** ![Toxgoddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Toxgoddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxgoddess)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2026, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/symbolism-behind-company-logos/1031027/27 "2026-06-21T15:03:45Z")
> [@a6ka97](#): > > Amazon with the arrow going from A to Z because they sell everything from “A to Z It has always looked like a sperm to me. I can’t help it. Try as I might, I can’t see it as anything else. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2026, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/symbolism-behind-company-logos/1031027/28 "2026-06-21T15:49:44Z")
Hershey’s Kisses’ logo looks straightforward until you notice that the space between the K and I looks like a Hershey’s Kiss. [![](https://cdn.thebrandingjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Kisses.png) ](https://cdn.thebrandingjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Kisses.png) ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2026, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/symbolism-behind-company-logos/1031027/29 "2026-06-21T17:10:53Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > I thought the Saturn (car) logo was extremely well done. Look, it’s the planet Saturn. No, wait, it’s a stylized S. And the physical emblem itself is one of the finest car emblems. Deep transparent red with the rings embedded. Cartier could have made it. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2026, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/symbolism-behind-company-logos/1031027/30 "2026-06-21T17:26:10Z")
I’m probably the only person not on the design team that spotted this but the logo for Water Tower Square in North Olmsted, Ohio is a stylized version of the square itself. The stores wrap around one corner and the water tower is opposite. [https://imgur.com/a/mZu1XA1](https://imgur.com/a/mZu1XA1) ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2026, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/symbolism-behind-company-logos/1031027/31 "2026-06-21T17:29:54Z")
The [Goodwill Industries](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodwill_Industries) logo is both half a smiley face and also a lowercase letter G. ---
**Author:** ![Civil\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d78d45/32.png) [@Civil\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Guy)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2026, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/symbolism-behind-company-logos/1031027/32 "2026-06-21T17:36:16Z")
Took me a moment to see it fully. The whitespace is the character’s ‘fill’. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2026, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/symbolism-behind-company-logos/1031027/33 "2026-06-21T17:43:08Z")
Cologuard’s is an uppercase [C and a backwards G](https://www.cologuard.com/i-have-a-kit), as well as the obvious. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2026, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/symbolism-behind-company-logos/1031027/34 "2026-06-21T17:46:57Z")
> [@Toxgoddess](#): > > It has always looked like a sperm to me. I can’t help it. Try as I might, I can’t see it as anything else Thanks a lot!! 😠 😃 ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2026, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/symbolism-behind-company-logos/1031027/35 "2026-06-21T18:16:20Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > A person with normal vision can see 6 stars with the naked eye. The seventh and eighth brightest are significantly dimmer than those, and about equal in brightness, so someone with very good vision can see 8. But there’s only a very tiny slice of people who would see 7. A lot of cultures have the stars as _The Seven [this or that]_, usually maidens, and some of them have a story about why there are only six now. Astronomers have speculated that long ago, like 100,000 years, Pleione and Atlas were further apart and more splittable. > [@wolfpup](#): > > Also true for the CN logo (formerly CNR – Canadian National Railways). Railfans refer to that as The Lazy 3 or The Worm. One of my favorites is also one of the most venerable, GE circa 1892. It first appeared on a pendant on their ceiling fans of the time and while the calligraphic GE are obvious the reason/origin of the four intruding ‘dingbats’ as they were called, is lost. A favorite explanation is that they represent the four blades of the fan. [![](https://www.ge.com/news/sites/default/files/inline-images/Monogram%20blueprint_2.png) ](https://www.ge.com/news/sites/default/files/inline-images/Monogram%20blueprint_2.png) ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2026, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/symbolism-behind-company-logos/1031027/36 "2026-06-21T18:37:27Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > FFS, he called it “their Dark Lord Satan”. That screams satire. To you. But that was the (bogus) claim. We have had several posters here post things that were UL. Nor has he come back to clarify. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2026, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/symbolism-behind-company-logos/1031027/37 "2026-06-21T18:46:36Z")
The logo for Ocean Network Express is just their initials, but they lean really heavily into the fact that those initials spell ‘ONE’. [![](https://www.one-line.com/sites/oneglobal/files/caeeer.jpg) ](https://www.one-line.com/sites/oneglobal/files/caeeer.jpg) Their slogan is: ‘As ONE, We Can’ ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2026, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/symbolism-behind-company-logos/1031027/38 "2026-06-24T20:50:57Z")
The old International Harvester logo was both an ‘i’ superimposed on an ‘H’, and a front view of a farmer on a tractor. [![](https://ihgear.com/cdn/shop/products/International_Harverster_Logo_Sticker_1200x.jpg?v=1776286479) ](https://ihgear.com/cdn/shop/products/International_Harverster_Logo_Sticker_1200x.jpg?v=1776286479) ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2026, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/symbolism-behind-company-logos/1031027/39 "2026-06-24T21:23:12Z")
Many medical and health care companies use the [Staff of Aesculapius](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rod_of_Asclepius) in their logo (staff with the snake), which symbolizes health and medicine. [![](https://clipground.com/images/blue-cross-blue-shield-logo-clipart-5.jpg) ](https://clipground.com/images/blue-cross-blue-shield-logo-clipart-5.jpg) [![](https://logodix.com/logo/591313.jpg) ](https://logodix.com/logo/591313.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2026, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/symbolism-behind-company-logos/1031027/40 "2026-06-24T21:36:08Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > 6 stars. The car itself is the seventh star. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/symbolism-behind-company-logos/1031027.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/symbolism-behind-company-logos/1031027.md?page=3)