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.
In This Article...
The Real Meaning of the BMW Logo It’s not an airplane propeller, either.
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.
The BMW logo’s history
blue and white interior. dark borders around it. The letters BMW are on it. This has been the universal representation of pure driving pleasure for more than 90 years. But how did this logo come about? In the video above, the BMW crew started looking for hints.
The most contentious matter facing the firm is the genuine significance of the “sky blue and white quartered” BMW logo. “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,” claims Dr. Florian Triebel, Executive Board Member of BMW AG.
According to legend, the round shape of a revolving airplane propeller served as inspiration for the modern BMW emblem. The stylised image of a white/silver propeller blade whirling against a clean blue sky is intended to be represented by the white and blue checker boxes.
The BMW logo’s association with the Bavarian flag’s colors and the company’s roots was considered “a lucky coincidence” by BMW. The Trademark Act forbade the use of “national coats of arms or other emblems of national sovereignty” in trademarks at the time the BMW logo was initially designed. The BMW marketers responded by “incorrectly organizing the color parts in the BMW logo from a heraldic standpoint,” maintaining the brand’s association with Bavaria while doing so.
The NY Times reported that BMW had confirmed this: “At the BMW Museum in Munich, my amiable tour guide, Anne Schmidt-Possiwal, explained that the blue-and-white company logo did not represent a spinning propeller, but was intended to show the colors of the Free State of Bavaria. In last Sunday’s Automobiles section, I wrote about visiting a quartet of German car museums.
logo history
Bayerische Motoren Werke, or BMW, was founded in Munich in 1916. Its initial focus was on the manufacture of aviation engines. The firm’s initial logo was circular to emphasize its relationship with Rapp Motorenwerken, the company that gave rise to BMW. The blue and white circle that took the place of the black horse quickly became the center of attention.
The rumors were fueled by the business itself. The business produced a photograph of a plane in 1929 whose revolving propellers closely resembled the insignia. The business was working on getting the necessary license at the time so it could start producing a new kind of airplane engine. By utilizing the new emblem, BMW hoped to increase sales.
The Bavarian flag is actually referenced by the colors white and blue. BMW made the decision to arrange the colors of the flag in a different order because the law forbade businesses from utilizing the recognized national symbols.
Introduce A New Emblem:
The business replaced the original gold rings and letters with white over time. In 1997, the logo adopted a skeuomorphic style that gave it a three-dimensional aspect. BMW suggests the new, streamlined emblem isn’t a badge for upcoming automobiles, save from the i4 Concept.
A legend remained for many years as the logo changed. Many of you believe that the BMW logo is an airplane’s spinning propeller. The blue and white portion alludes to the Bavarian state flag of Germany. The usage of national insignia as logos is forbidden there, hence the colors are inverted (if the roundel is read clockwise).
Prior to making automobiles and motorbikes, BMW worked in the aviation industry. With the R32, it made its motorcycling debut in 1923. The company’s initial automobile was a licensed imitation of the Austin Seven, but by the beginning of the 1930s, it was building cars that it had internally designed.
Because of… the notion that the BMW logo is an airplane’s propellers was created. BMW. In 1929, a picture of an airplane with the brand’s emblem on its revolving propellers appeared in an advertising for a new engine. Since then, this meaning has been held by many people.
For a long time, according to Fred Jakobs of BMW Group Classic, “BMW has done little to debunk the notion.” The interpretation has been widely accepted for 90 years, which gives it some sort of legitimacy.
BMW Logo Evolution 1917-2020
The BMW emblem is regarded as one of the best automobile logos in graphic design history. Blue, white, and black are the three imposing colors that make up the BMW logo. White symbolizes innocence and charm, while black signifies the company’s brilliance and elegance. On the other side, the blue color stands for the durability and dependability of its goods.
What is the BMW logo’s coded message?
The whirling airplane blades that make up the BMW logo’s centre portion represent the company’s early heritage of aviation technology.
Why did BMW modify their logo?
2020 was a big deal for many different reasons. Among other things, it turned out to be the year of the new automobile emblem, with manufacturers ranging from Nissan to Rolls-Royce announcing new designs that are nearly all characterized by the word “flat.” But a year ago this month, the first one to be shown was arguably the greatest of the group.
BMW’s new logo, which was unveiled in March of last year, is a translucent, flat reworking of its once metallic insignia. To achieve a clean, modern appearance, the traditional outer black ring has been eliminated and replaced with pure transparency. Both the circle pattern and the Bavarian state colors of white and blue are still present.
The straightforward design has a lot of appeal to us. Its simplicity suggests that it has been updated with digital use in mind, but it also recognizes the 103-year history of the brand, making it a strong example of both traditional and modern logo design. While there was some initial skepticism online, it quickly became apparent that the transparent design is perfect for both physical and digital uses, like the entertaining reveal video above.
In a news statement, Jens Thiemer, senior vice president of customer and brand, stated that the transparent logo was created to “radiate more openness and clarity” and that “BMW is becoming a relationship brand” (what, like Tinder?).
Since then, BMW has added the 2020 design to its history of the logo page (opens in new tab). The boldness of this redesign becomes more apparent when viewed in context (below), where the elimination of the black ring seems to be the most significant alteration to the emblem since 1917.
We were especially intrigued in the article’s clarification of the widespread myth that the emblem itself symbolizes a propeller when BMW initially published it in 2019 (opens in new tab). This was inspired by a 1929 advertisement (below), which included the logo inside a moving airplane propeller to advertise a new aviation engine BMW was developing.
According to the report, “sticking to the story that the BMW is a propeller would not be altogether inaccurate” because BMW “for a long time made little effort to refute the myth that the BMW insignia is a propeller.” It’s refreshing to hear a company say that its logo may be whatever you want it to be in a world of bureaucracy and impossible-to-follow rules.
Considering that Renault quietly unveiled a new design just last week, it appears that the flat vehicle logo trend will persist beyond 2021. The unveiling of Kia’s new logo may have been the silliest ever, with the company’s spectacular ceremony outdoing even the most lavish New Year’s celebrations.