SoundCloud

Soundcloud--- An   online audio distribution platform based in Berlin, Germany that enables its users to upload, record, promote and share their originally-created sounds. 

The Logo of sound cloud doesn't seems much complex and on a closer look, the bars in the cloud represents waves, thus signifying the name sound cloud of the company.

Adidas

Logo 1972 to 1996

Logo after 1996

In 1996 this logo replaced the 1972 Adidas logo. The logo became the Adidas’ worldwide corporate logo. It represents performance and the future of the Adidas brand identity. Again like all former Adidas logos, it features three main elements. The three leaves in the 1972 logo got replaced by a triangle cut into three pieces. Apart from the triangle visualizing the future focused movement, it can also been seen as a strong visual representation of the classic Adidas sneaker with its three stripes on the side. The Adidas name is a pormanteau of its founder’s name Adolf (Adi) Dassler. The three elements in this and all other Adidas logos are said to represent Dassler’s three sons.

BMW Logo : Controversy

BMW Logo
The true meaning of the ‘sky blue and white quartered’ BMW logo is the most controversial issue of the company. According to Dr. Florian Triebel, Executive Board Member of c, “There are two traditions concerning the significance of the BMW logo and trademark, offering two different interpretations of its sky blue and white fields. One interpretation points to a rotating propeller. The other relates the BMW logo to Bavaria as the place where the products are manufactured”. 

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 Controversy:

One version of the ‘sky blue and white checker box’ BMW logo myth connects it with a shining silver/white rotating propeller that the engineers of BMW were working on. The other relates the BMW logo to Bavaria as the place where the products of the company are manufactured and with the national colors of Bavaria (sky blue and white). 

The SHINING PROPELLER Theory:

BMW's current logo design is said to be evolved from the circular design of a rotating aircraft propeller. The white and blue checker boxes are supposed to be a stylized representation of a white/silver propeller blade spinning against a clear blue sky. The theory is further strengthened with the statement that the image has its origins in World War I in which the Bavarian Luftwaffe flew planes painted in blue and white. It also reflects the origins of BMW as a military aircraft engine maker during WWI and the belief that BMW started as an aero engine manufacturer. According to the company’s journal, “BMW Werkzeitschrift” (1942), the BMW logo emerged when a BMW engineer was testing the company’s first 320 bhp engine. He admired the reflection of the shining disc of the rotating propeller that radiated like an aura of two silver cones. In between the two cones, the blue from the sky shined that made the ‘rotating propeller into four areas of color – silver and blue’. The engineer, who envisioned this image, also saw three letters – B M W – reflected on the propeller. Thus, the BMW logo was born. However, according to a BMW spokesperson, the BMW logo does not symbolize a spinning propeller (although the imagery did appear in post-WWI advertisements). On other note, this statement is considered by many as merely a bogus claim made by the company to give a logical explanation to the public about the BMW logo’s creation. In fact, the first BMW aero-engine test took place in March 1918 – six months after the BMW logo had been created. Additionally, the founding myth of the BMW logo, the propeller, was a component of the engine that was never manufactured by BMW.

The BAVARIAN FLAG Theory:

For BMW, it was ‘a happy coincidence’ that the BMW logo symbolized the Bavarian flag colors and represented the company’s origin. When the BMW logo was first created, it was prohibited by the Trademark Act to feature ‘national coats of arms or other symbols of national sovereignty’ in a trademark. This led the BMW marketers to come up with a solution of ‘incorrectly configuring the color elements in the BMW logo from a heraldic perspective’, while also keeping its relationship with Bavaria evident.

BMW

BMW

Everybody knows a BMW automobile when they see one, but most of them have no idea what the logo means. The trademark blue-white BMW logo is meant to symbolize the movement of an aircraft propeller, of white blades cutting through the blue skies. It was first created in 1923, but the logo has pretty much retained its original features other than a few minor modifications to its fonts and colors.

(Current logo)

Volkswagen

Volkswagen

 

The original VW logo from 1939 featured bumped teeth around the circle to make it look like a gear, with long arms rotating around the circle. The arms and gear bumps were eliminated by the time WWII ended and in 2000, VW colored the logo blue and silver.

The Volkswagen logo represents the letter V and W. The logo was the result of a compatition held in the Volkswagen office. The winner was engineer Franz Xaver Reimspieß. For this design he received a one-off payment of 100 Reichmarks.


Current logo:--

 

The name ‘Volkswagen’ means ‘People’s car’ in Germany and this was its initial logo:

This logo was designed by a Porsche employee named Franz Xavier Reimspiess during an office logo design competition. He encircled the letters ‘V’ and ‘W with bold fonts. The circle looked more like a ship’s wheel with fans around. When I first looked at their first logo, the first thing that I thought of was a Pedestal fan or a lower fan to be more precise. The black and white logo remained the identity of Volkswagen until this logo was designed:

 

After the WWII, Britishers took over the company. They renamed the car as Beetle. They changed the logo, though no major changes were made, however, they got rid of the design around the circle which seems to be inspired from the Nazi flag. Surprisingly all the car makers like Fiat and Ford declined to take ‘free control’ of the Volkswagen factory. So, it was returned to the German government, and went on to become one of the world’s bestselling cars ever.

This was a very fine modification in the previous logo; it gave the logo a more elegant and corporate look.

The current logo basically is very similar to the previous one with minute modifications. The major change they’ve done in this logo is its color. 

Audi

Shape of Audi Logo:
Audi Logo comprises of four 3-dimensional overlapping rings which now appear sharper with a more of a polished chrome look, depict the 1932 merger of Audi with DKW, Horsh and Wanderer, and signifies strength and security.

 

Color of Audi Logo:
The slightly darker colors used in the Audi logo give it a more shinny and defined look. The aluminum silver in the rings represents innovative power and lightweight design, an Audi core competency that set the brand apart.

New Audi Logo:
The new look to the logo is a message by the company to its customers and employees to render more innovative and efficient designs. It is hoped that the new Audi logo, implemented in August 2009, works for the company and further strengthens its bond with its customers.