I am helping a client with branding and logo design, hence have logos on my mind. A logo can’t carry a lot of messaging but some cleverly squeeze in a functional message.
Did you know that the blue and white quadrants of the BMW logo evoke a spinning white propeller against a blue sky, an ode to the company’s aviation past? Clever!
Except that it’s not true. It’s not just a good myth — it’s a great one, since even people at BMW believed the myth for a time.
BMW’s roundel (I love that word!) was born in 1916, using the colors of the Bavarian flag. A 1929 ad used it superimposed over propeller blades, perhaps birthing the myth:
It’s a myth but it’s also a great story. Source: BMW Motorcycle.