Animals are a popular brand mark for many companies to use in their logo. They can be used to depict a number of different traits and personalities, and different animals can reflect different values. Historically, animals have a lot of significance to humans. Animals were believed to be deities in many cultures, and our high regard of animals has continued into the modern world. As a society, we love animals – we have them as pets, visit them in zoos and wildlife parks, and continually watch shows and films that feature them. 

Symbolism in animal logos

Animals communicate different features and traits that can represent your brand, so it is important to choose an animal that symbolises the characteristics that you want your customers to associate with your brand. 

For example, many people associate foxes with being cunning and sly, so that may not be the best choice for your company if you want to build trust with your customers! Similarly, if you want to highlight your fast customer service, a cheetah may be a better choice of animal than a snail or a tortoise. 

Eight famous logos that feature animals

There are plenty of brands with animal logos. In fact, there are so many, we bet that you can easily name at least 5 well-known companies whose logo features an animal!

Ferrari

Arguably the most famous logo featuring an animal is Ferrari’s wild stallion. It depicts everything that Ferrari wants its customers to think about the cars that they produce – fast, sleek and luxurious. 

Ferrari’s emblem is also often associated with the Italian flag, thanks to the green, white and red stripes at the top of the shape. 

Jaguar

The Jaguar logo is a very memorable logo because it is a literal representation of their brand name. The pouncing wildcat was designed to not only mirror the name of the company, but also to illustrate the fundamental values of the manufacturer — ambition, grace, and power.

Peugeot

It seems that a lot of car manufacturers use animals in their logos, as next on our list is Peugeot! 

The Peugeot lion dates back to the 1800s, when the Peugeot family’s steel business needed a logo that reflected the company’s activity and strength. As well as this, the lion was a heraldic symbol of the commune that the Peugeot family came from.

The logo has gone through multiple changes since 1847, but the lion has remained throughout. 

Swarovski 

Moving away from the automobile industry, but sticking to the luxury theme, the next logo on our list is Swarovski’s swan.

Swan’s often represent elegance and sophistication, thanks to their graceful appearance within nature. As well as this, the long-standing association between the royal family and swans allows Swarovski to have a luxurious, classy feel to their branding.

Lacoste

Lacoste’s crocodile logo dates back to 1923, when tennis prodigy and eventual founder of Lacoste, René Lacoste, had a bet with his team captain to win a crocodile leather suitcase if he won his upcoming match. He didn’t win, but a journalist who knew about the bet characterised his performance as ‘fighting like a true crocodile’. 

This stuck as a nickname, and René personalised his tennis polo shirts with an embroidered crocodile. When the clothing brand, Lacoste, was born, the crocodile became the obvious choice for the logo.

Penguin Books

The Penguin Books logo is another famous logo containing an animal. In 1935, 21-year-old artist, Edward Young, visited London Zoo to draw pictures of the penguins from lots of different angles. These drawings became the inspiration for the logo for the Penguin Books company, due to it mirroring the name of the brand.

Whilst the logo has changed slightly since Young’s original sketch, it has endured for decades and is arguably the most recognised publisher’s logo in the world. It is instantly recognisable and has become a symbol for reliability and education as the recognition and love for the Penguin brand has grown.

WWF

The World Wide Fund for nature is represented by a panda. WWF’s goal is to protect endangered animals, and when it was set up in 1961, the first big panda (an endangered animal) was brought to London Zoo, so a panda seemed like a fitting animal to represent the organisation and its values.

As well as this, being a global organisation, it needed a logo that represented the message and goals of the charity worldwide, without worrying about language barriers.

Puma

The German company chose the name “Puma” to highlight its values of strength, agility, and grace.  The logo has changed several times throughout the years, but the current logo is the one introduced in 1988. With a sleek, bold wordmark, designed to showcase power, and a leaping Puma to represent agility and sporting prowess, the logo is the perfect representation of a sportswear brand.

How Milk & Tweed can help

Using animals in your logo can be an effective way to highlight the core values of your brand or reflect the name of your company. Due to the strong symbolism that animals appear to have, branding will continue to be enhanced by animal imagery. 

If you are interested in getting some help designing an animal-themed logo for your business, whether that be a start-up or as part of a rebrand for an existing company, please get in touch with us here at Milk & Tweed and we will be happy to help.