What is the meaning of the BMW logo to you? Many people think it represents a propeller, but is this truly true? Wonder no more, as BMW has revealed the significance of its blue and white logo design (opens in new tab).
Of course, the BMW is often associated with aggressive drivers who roar up behind them on the highway and flash their lights while requesting to be let to pass (although, to be fair, Audi has recently usurped BMW in that regard). The next time a BMW emblem appears in your rearview mirror, though, you won’t have to ponder what it represents.
Previously known as Rapp, the company built aircraft engines for the German Air Force, or Luftwaffe, for the first few years of its existence before adopting its current name in 1917. Rapp’s previous logo included a chess piece knight silhouette encircled by a black ring containing the company name. For its new logo, the company kept the black ring but added the now-famous blue and white design in quarters.
The new look was created to showcase the company’s Bavarian background; the Bavarian flag also has a blue and white striped design, and there was a strong desire for Bavarian independence from Germany at the time BMW was founded. The corporate name, BMW, which is short for Bayerische Motoren Werke or Bavarian Motor Works, also expresses support for independence.
So where did the concept of a propeller come from? BMW claims that it all began with an advertisement that was printed in 1929, back when the company was still making airplane engines, and showed an airplane with the BMW emblem overlaid over the propeller. A similar illustration in a 1942 BMW magazine strengthened the relationship, and legend has since flourished from there.
Even though the firm hasn’t had anything to do with the aircraft industry in a very long time, BMW acknowledges that it hasn’t really made much of an attempt to dispel the misconception surrounding its emblem. It’s just a cute little pub fact that doesn’t hurt and promotes the BMW brand.
However, it’s important to understand the complete significance of the logo. To learn more and to see how the BMW logo has changed through time, see this article on the corporate website (opens in new tab).
In This Article...
What does the BMW symbol mean?
The question “What does the BMW logo mean?” has a straightforward solution. The company’s Bavarian heritage was emphasized in the symbol’s design. The organization honors its history by using the inverted colors of the Bavarian flag.
However, there are different interpretations of the BMW emblem that are possible. A powerful image for inclusivity, community, and connection is a collection of circles enclosing one another.
The “BMW” word mark’s decision to be written in a softer, sans-serif font is also intentional; it makes the firm look more approachable and interesting.
Additionally, a lot of individuals still associate the BMW emblem with the aviation sector, claiming that the white and blue pattern in the middle makes them think of a plane’s fast propeller against a sky of blue.
Who created the logo for BMW?
The blue and white logo was also influenced by Rapp Motoren Werke Munchen, a car manufacturer that developed into BMW.
Rapp didn’t influence the choice of colors for the BMW logo, but it did have a significant impact on the design of the emblem.
It had an impact on the layout of the logo in addition to its shape.
To begin with, the Rapp logo was spherical and had a wide border around it.
Rapp’s logo also had a significant impact on how the text would be organized and where the symbol would appear.
On both logos, the text is arranged to resemble a semicircle within the substantial border.
BMW’s logo was influenced by Rapp’s, even though it was only created in black and white because colored pictures weren’t widely used at the time.
The traditional blue and white colors of the BMW logo have replaced the representation of the black horse.
The similarities between the two logos may be seen when they are side by side.
Rapp was acquired by BMW, yet it still produced remarkable achievements, as evidenced by the modern BMW logo.
What symbolism does the BMW logo hold?
The whirling airplane blades that make up the BMW logo’s centre portion represent the company’s early heritage of aviation technology.
What does BMW’s secret meaning entail?
Bayerische Motoren Werke GmbH, or the Bavarian Engine Works Company, is what the abbreviation BMW stands for. The corporation was founded in the German state of Bavaria, hence the name. Additionally, it shows the original product line of BMW: different application-specific engines
Why is the BMW logo white and blue?
White and blue, the colors of the German State of Bavaria, where BMW is based, are the first clue to the logo’s meaning. The BMW logo, complete with the four colored quadrants, is shown on a spinning airplane propeller in a 1929 BMW advertisement.
Meaning of the Mercedes logo?
Meaning of the Mercedes-Benz Logo The three points of the Mercedes-Benz star together symbolize the company’s pursuit of global motorization, but each point also has a distinct meaning. The points stand for land, sea, and air, which the corporation envisioned as being the three spheres they would eventually rule with Mercedes-Benz engines.
What does BMW’s full name mean?
Bavarian Motor Works is the entire name of the company, which is a bit of a mouthful ( Read more: The BMW name and its history)
What did the initial BMW badge entail?
If you believed that BMW’s logo evoked the company’s past as an airplane manufacturer, you’re mistaken. You’re also mistaken if you assumed that the “Roundel” in the emblem represented a rotating airplane propeller. Fortunately, the Munich-based automaker recently published a “BMW Explained” column debunking some of the Roundel’s origin lore.
As stated in the article by Fred Jakobs of BMW Group Classic, “many people think the BMW emblem is a stylised propeller.” But the reality is somewhat different.
What led to the creation of the Roundel? The company’s famous blue and white inner circular quarters actually got their start as a symbol of the state of Bavaria’s official colors, according the historical discovery. But when the BMW logo was initially designed, the local trademark law of the time forbade the use of the state’s coats of arms and other associated “symbols of sovereignty” in commercial insignias. As a result, the pattern within the BMW emblem displays those colors inverted order.
In order to get around the trademark law, BMW merely reversed the colors.
After beginning as Rapp Motorenwerke GmbH in 1913, BMW originally registered as a business with the German Imperial Register of Trademarks on October 5, 1917. Since BMW didn’t have an emblem at first, its designers simply adopted the former founding company’s original badge, kept its circular shape with the outer black ring, and changed the horse head silhouette with the state’s inverted colors and the letters BMW, which stand for Bayerische Motoren Werke or Bavarian Motor Works.
What is the origin of the widespread misunderstanding that BMW’s emblem resembles an airplane propeller? This 1929 commercial:
It first appeared that year as a marketing ploy for the firm’s most recent aviation engine, which they were making for Pratt & Whitney under license at the time, just as the world economic crisis, better known to us as “The Great Depression,” started to take hold. Due to its strong association with BMW’s past as an airplane manufacturer, this perception just took off. Since then, it has been repeated several times in the media, most notably in 1942 when a similar advertisement appeared in the “Flugmotoren-Nachrichten” or “Aircraft Engine News” magazine, published by BMW.
According to Jakobs, “BMW made little attempt for a very long time to dispel the idea that the BMW emblem is a propeller.”
Jakobs added that although it isn’t entirely incorrect, calling the BMW symbol a representation of an airplane propeller isn’t entirely accurate either. The identical idea was debunked in a 2010 New York Times piece, yet for some reason, the belief has persisted.
This interpretation has been widely accepted for 90 years, therefore it has developed some validity over time, continued Jakobs.
Hopefully the record will be cleared up once and for all with the company’s official statement from its internal monthly.
What does the text BMW mean?
A lady of Latina heritage with a massive frame is referred to as a “Big Mexican Woman” by the acronym BMW. For South American women who might have previously been labeled as “fat,” it is an empowering and politically correct term. BMW is often used in this context as an indexing tag on pornographic websites or as a description on dating websites.
Why is the BMW white?
The significance of the BMW emblem has been debated for literally decades. Although authorities have been unequivocal about what it means, some people have always believed that they are the experts. You’ll probably hear a wide range of various responses if you ask random folks on the street where it originates from. The Germans wrote a history of the Roundel’s beginnings in order to put an end to all rumors.
The meaning of the blue and white roundel was the subject of two main theories. One stated it was intended to mimic the sky as viewed through an airplane’s circling propellers. Why so? because BMW initially produced genuine airplane engines. To be more specific, it was Rapp Motorenwerken back then and wasn’t even called BMW. That occurred in 1913. But if you’ve ever googled Rapp Motorenwerken, you might have seen the business had a completely different logo, with a horse right in the center of it.
Fred Jakobs, Archive Director, BMW Group Classic, argues that in the early years, the emblem and its significance weren’t truly in the spotlight. BMW “simply wasn’t present in the public mind in those first several years.” Business was primarily focused on producing and maintaining aircraft engines under license for the newly founded German Air Force (Luftwaffe).
It turns out that the 1929 trademark advertisement—which you can see above above—is to blame for everything. It just took the repetition of the idea in a subsequent ad run in 1942 for a myth to be established. Fred Jakobs, Archive Director, BMW Group Classic, claims that BMW also contributed to this as the firm over the years made little effort to refute these notions.
No, the insignia doesn’t stand for that. The Bavarian flag, which likewise uses the hues of white and blue, is what it is intended to represent.
A company logo was presented to the fledgling business on October 5, 1917. The original Rapp logo’s round shape was carried over into this round BMW insignia, which was filed in the German Imperial Register of Trademarks. The letters BMW were displayed on the symbol’s outer ring, which was now enclosed by two gold lines.
The company’s emblem was also supposed to have a representation of Bavaria, the company’s native state. The state colors of the State of Bavaria—white and blue—are displayed in the quarters of the inner circle on the BMW logo. However, their order is reversed (at least as far as heraldic rules are concerned, where you read clockwise from the top left). The local trademark legislation in effect at the time barred the use of state coats of arms or other indications of sovereignty on commercial logos, which is why the blue and white of the BMW emblem are arranged in the opposite order.
Consequently, the BMW’s roundel needed to be modified. The reason for this is that using the state’s coat of arms for commercial reasons was against the law in the early 20th century. As a result, the BMW emblem was slightly changed to ensure that it wasn’t creating any issues.