What comes to your mind when you first hear the names of such super brands as Coca-Cola, Nike, Toyota, & Puma? I bet it’s their unique brand logos. We, humans, often use visual representations when memorizing stuff. And this is exactly why logos are so important – they help visualize brands and make them memorable. So, if you want your brand to stand out in the crowd, creating an extraordinary logo is a must. However, logo creation is a complex process that requires a sound understanding of the business, detailed research, thoughtful ideas, and eye to minute details.
Additionally, choosing the right logotype for your business can be challenging. While for some brands, a symbol logo will be a perfect fit, others may find a monogram logo to be more appropriate. In this blog, we’ll take a close look at some of the most famous letter “W” logos and how they left a mark on our minds. But before that, let us clear our glasses and know the significance of the letter “W”.
The Evolution and Symbolism of the Letter “W”
W, the 23rd letter of the English alphabet, took birth during the Middle Ages, when the scribes of Charlemagne wrote two U’s alongside, separated by a space. At that time, “W” sounded very similar to “V”, and it became a unique letter only around the year 1700 when it started appearing in various European newspapers. Surprisingly, French people still call W as double V.
The letter “W” evokes an energy that echoes the ideas of creative self-expression, curiosity, imagination, wit, and expression of an individual sense of freedom. It also stands for wealth and resourcefulness, so people who use it in their name or brand logo, are blessed with prosperity. Such people are also physically active and mentally alert, so they’re often adept at multitasking. They’re also charismatic and enjoy a good conversation.
Similarly, seeing the letter ‘W’ signifies that wealth is about to flow into your life, and you’ve taken the necessary initiatives to arrive at this point in time. Your life is about to change and you can expect better things now. You seem to be in a stable situation in your personal and professional life.
7 Famous Letter “W” Logos and What Makes Them Unique
1. Walt Disney
Weaving magic since 1923, Walt Disney Pictures Company is one of the top entertainment and information providers in the world. Their very first logo featured a lined image of Mickey Mouse – the most famous Walt Disney character, on a black background. It also contained a smart wordmark “Walt Disney” and “home entertainment” phrase below. During television or film shows, this logo would swivel and change colors. Later in 1995, the company came up with what’s still the trademark element of their existing logo – the Cinderella Castle.
With the advancement in digital technology, Disney created a new logo, and this time it was a three-dimensional logo for the brand. This new design was detailed with towers, balconies, and moving flags, with a star appearing to draw a line, linking the words “Walt Disney Pictures” to the castle. Over time, this 3D image was further adjusted to add more details. Later on, clouds and fireworks were also included to express the magic behind the brand. Playful, inventive, and easily identifiable, the Walt Disney logo is loved by both adults and kids worldwide. What kept the company ahead of others? It was their courage and willingness to change and evolve with changing audiences all of the time.
2. Walmart
Founded in 1962 by Sam Walton., Walmart is currently one of the largest and most successful retail companies in the world. Although the company is facing some tough challenges for being one of the “biggest and fastest-growing” climate polluters in the country, Walmart still reigns supreme as the go-to vendor for a huge range of products. Although the original Walmart logo was pretty simple, the company then decided to add either a hyphen or asterisk in between, splitting the wordmark into two – Wal and Mart. The brand has also used different colors for its logo, ranging from black and white to rust-brown, and a darker shade of blue. Currently, dark blue has been replaced with a lighter shade, which gives a happy, youthful feeling.
Although the star in the center of the wordmark disappeared, it has been replaced with a sunshine symbol at the end. According to some experts from the company’s branding team, the spark stands for innovation and inspiration. Beyond just a sunny icon that creates instant positivity and happiness, this symbol speaks about some of the brand values that Walmart has held close over the years.
3. Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a free multilingual, web-based online encyclopedia that features openly editable content, drafted and sourced by users from around the world. It contains information on a wide range of topics, including brands, manufacturers, personalities, services, important terms, sports teams & more. Its first logo was introduced in 2001, which was a round ball or an improvised globe, representing a jigsaw puzzle with some pieces missing at the top. There was also some multilingual text inscribed on the pieces, which was later replaced with glyphs. Several logo modifications were introduced in 2003, which are still relevant today. The existing Wikipedia logo is the same incomplete jigsaw globe, but it has thinner boundaries between pieces that give it a sleeker appearance.
Each letter printed on a jigsaw puzzle belongs to a different language, which symbolizes that Wikipedia gathers and imparts knowledge from around the globe. It also implies “the incomplete nature of the project, the articles and languages yet to be added.”
4. Wrangler
One of the oldest and most popular denim bands in the world, Wrangler left a profound impact on the global denim industry. With its birth in the late 1890s, the company grew from its humble beginnings as a small factory in North Carolina to a multinational corporation. The original logo was heavily inspired by the cowboy theme. The wordmark was formed by the cowboy lasso. It featured a prominent “W” with two loops, and there were additional loops on the “r’s.”
The word “Wrangler” was not positioned strictly horizontally – its end slightly raised above the line. This created a dynamic and optimistic feel. The design went through a complete overhaul in the following years and the current one uses a heavier font with sharp elements. The most notable part is definitely the “g” with its lower part made up of an open circle. This logo has been in use in the US ever since, although the international one was completely redrawn in 2011. Its design was inspired by the original “handwritten” wordmark, though the lasso pattern was dropped.
5. WhatsApp
Introduced in the year 2009, WhatsApp is currently the most popular free messaging app and voiceover-IP service in the world. From humble beginnings to having more than 2.5 billion active users today, it has definitely transformed the mode of virtual communication. Designed by Koum and Acton themselves during the initial period of the app’s development and launch, the basic design of the WhatsApp logo hasn’t changed much over the years, although the company itself changed hands (WhatsApp was taken over by Facebook corporation).
The WhatsApp logo features a few interesting elements that can clearly portray the app’s purpose, using a simple design. Since WhatsApp is an instant messaging and audio/video calling app, the logo needs to effectively communicate those functions. For this, two separate elements have been used in the design. The first element is a text bubble that symbolizes a sent or received message. Every text message that you receive in WhatsApp is displayed in one of these text bubbles. The text bubble with a tail signifies that they are a messaging app, while cleverly tapping into the excitement users experience when they see a bubble notification on their device.
An interesting thing to note about the logo is that, even though WhatsApp is a multiplatform messaging app designed for modern mobile phones and tablets, the inner part features an older, landline phone. Although the main logo consists of the emblem alone, there are also versions that include the wordmark – WhatsApp. It is designed in a plain sans serif font with flattened vertexes on the “W” and “A.”
6. Wells Fargo
Named after its creators, Henry Wells and William Fargo, Wells Fargo is one of the most renowned international banking and financial services holding companies in the US. Although the present Wells Fargo logo primarily uses the wordmark on a red background, the iconic stagecoach is still remembered today for its power and legacy. First depicted in a black and white color palette, the stagecoach stood for the company’s values, ethics, and heritage. The six-horses prairie wagon was extremely detailed and had a wordmark placed under it, divided by a thin black horizontal line.
After Wells Fargo merged with Wachovia, the new logo appeared in 2009, which comprised a solid dark red square with yellow letters set on two levels. The current Wells Fargo logo was designed in 2018 and is almost a replica of the previous one, with just its logotype in white and letter lines thicker.
7. Wella
Founded in 1880 by Franz Stroher, Wella is a renowned German cosmetics brand, specializing in hair and scalp care products. It was later taken over by Procter & Gamble Corporation, which then passed it over to Coty, Inc. The concept of the Wella logo design hasn’t changed since its day of inception in 1971, although the color palette was changed to a brighter one, and the lines became thinner and waiver. With the redesign of 1991, the logo color palette was changed to red and white, and the contours of the logo were more refined. The hair of the woman was also softer and more natural, while her face was contoured in red.
The current logo was designed in 2009, with all the lines of the icon and wordmark more defined. The color scheme remained intact, and the beautiful combination of red and white depict the brand’s passion and professionalism. The logotype in all capitals of a unique sans-serif typeface looks soft and feminine, while it also portrays a sense of trust and wellbeing.
Conclusion
These were some of the most famous and memorable letter “W” logos that show that a logo could be more than just a wordmark. From tricky use of fonts to impactful color combinations, these logos look nothing but purely professional. If you want to design a similar letter based logo, contact a reliable logo design agency with years of experience in this field.
