True Origin of the BMW Roundel Logo

[FrankiE90]

Bavarian color scheme.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Bavaria



history reveals
bmw are logo biters
or just borrow'd a template.

[ddk632]

Originally Posted by Caspian

I don't think the tie to the previous logo border necessarily excludes the center being a representation of a propeller. They didn't describe the thought process going in to the blue and white, just stating that they were the Bavarian national colors.

Why not horizontal or vertical stripes? Why not the diamond shapes often used in Bavaria?

Unless there is a documentation of the process of developing the new logo, we can't state definitively where the inspiration came from. I think there is still a good chance it was inspired by a propeller.

I thought the same thing as I watched the video. However, a quick google of the Bavarian flag showed a blue and white checkered pattern, thus supporting the pattern of the BMW roundel logo. It makes sense, in fact. I believe no further explanation was made in the video as the historian likely assumes that by stating the intent to use the Bavarian national colors, that viewers would already know what the flag looked like as well.

[johnca]

Interesting

[adriang]

I believe the BMW logo was inspired by the RAPP logo, and that the blue and white colors were taken from the bavarian flag just altered a bit to look evened out

[doug_999]

"So you can see very clearly how the BMW logo was developed"

Huh?

[Fzara2000]

How did Rapp come up with their logo...?

[roadmax]

Well let's say it is both: the Bavarian flag colors and the propeller. It has the colors white-blue but also it is round (roundel), not square or diamond or triangular but round and there are more colors than white-blue which are black outer ring and silver letters. I think BMW should explain more details of this topic.

[Malbolge]

Originally Posted by Caspian

They didn't describe the thought process going in to the blue and white, just stating that they were the Bavarian national colors.

Why not horizontal or vertical stripes? Why not the diamond shapes often used in Bavaria?

LD

I think you're trying to hang on to a myth. like it says, well done to PR ad.

I think they've gotten the best visual layout using bavarian coat of arms. Your argument about size or shape etc can equally be applied to propeller argument. why is it blue and white, not gray and white? Why is its 4 sections, not 3? etc.

Originally Posted by Fzara2000

How did Rapp come up with their logo...?

those logos all look like stamps to be honest.

[AW128i]

I find it very amusing that there are people on this site refuting what BMW's own historian is saying about the roundel origins. Yes, the armchair historian knows more than the obviously well-educated and well-versed BMW employee. I saw a special on I think the History Channel a couple years ago about BMW and in it there was a long-time BMW employee that commented about the evolution of the roundel. He noted that it didn't actually evolve from a propellor and that many people, BMW employees included, don't know that.

[ATS]

I really liked the myth of the propeller and its link with the BMW origins as an aircraft engine manufacturer.

Very disappointing to hear the truth this time

[antzcrashing]

Originally Posted by AKAFP

good stuff. many people do not know the true history.

+1, I was at BMW Research Center 2 years ago and they said it was the propeller. LOL

[MalFaction]

First time i heard the propeller thing i thought, "Huh, that's stupid." Nice to hear my first instinct was spot on.

And if you look at the flag, and the lozenge pattern, it makes sense to alter slightly within the circular RAPP logo.

[InTheNightKitchen]

Originally Posted by Caspian

I don't think the tie to the previous logo border necessarily excludes the center being a representation of a propeller. They didn't describe the thought process going in to the blue and white, just stating that they were the Bavarian national colors.

Why not horizontal or vertical stripes? Why not the diamond shapes often used in Bavaria?

Unless there is a documentation of the process of developing the new logo, we can't state definitively where the inspiration came from. I think there is still a good chance it was inspired by a propeller.

My $.02

Cheers,

LD

+1

[US///M3]

I ve always thought the spinning propeller theory was bs...the M-B logo looks more like a propeller than the roundel. Lol

[ralper]

Originally Posted by Caspian

I don't think the tie to the previous logo border necessarily excludes the center being a representation of a propeller. They didn't describe the thought process going in to the blue and white, just stating that they were the Bavarian national colors.

Why not horizontal or vertical stripes? Why not the diamond shapes often used in Bavaria?

Unless there is a documentation of the process of developing the new logo, we can't state definitively where the inspiration came from. I think there is still a good chance it was inspired by a propeller.

My $.02

Cheers,

LD

I'm a bit confused as well. The video did an excellent job of explaining the black border and the letters but not the inside blue and white pattern. I still have no clue about what it represents.

[09BlkSapphire]

Originally Posted by ralper

I'm a bit confused as well. The video did an excellent job of explaining the black border and the letters but not the inside blue and white pattern. I still have no clue about what it represents.

Watch the video again. It represents the Bavarian flag's colors.

[M3jason]

My last name is Rapp, Yessss! I guess I was born to drive a BMW!

[E46M54325Ci]

already knew this, but good video to put it to rest. pretty sure i remember seeing an episode of jeopardy where they cited the propeller myth. perhaps if it's universally wrong, it becomes right.

[svache]

Here's a funny one.. I was just clearing some stuff in my place and came across some of the gifts we have received in the past from BMW NA. One of them is a small hardcover book with things about BMW, one of them is the roundel...

Here is what it says:

The BMW Roundel

One of the most recognizable logos in the world, the blue-and-white BMW insignia is known as the roundel. It's the only automotive emblem to depict motion as it portrays the movement of an airplane propeller against a clear blue Bavarian sky. This hearkens back to BMW's early days as a manufacturer of airplane engines that set many altitude records in the early 1900s.

This was published in 2008 by BMW of North America, LLC. Next to this article is that old image of the airplane with the roundel as propellers.

[stealth.pilot]

It's pretty obvious. It doesn't even look like a propeller.

I always thought it looked like the Bavarian Flag.