BMW "Spinner" Propeller

[FRT 144]

What the.... Roundel nothing to do with a spinning propeller, iz been fooled all dis time.

Can anyone confirm, Jon?

Article:
The BMW Roundel, one of the world's most recognized and revered commercial symbols,celebrates its 90th anniversary this month.In July 1917 Franz Josef Popp registered thename Bayerische Motoren Werke, thus distancingthe new company from the Rapp Motorenwerke.This was a necessary move if the new companywas to find new clients and prosper. The name wasregistered but as yet there was no new logo…It was on 5 October 1917 that the BMW trademarkwas registered with the Imperial Trade MarkRoll under No. 221388. It featured the circular design of the Rapp logo but with the letters BMWat the top of the outer ring. The inner featuredquadrants in the Bavarian Free State colours ofblue and white - but in the opposed order - as itwas illegal to use national symbols in a commercialtrademark.

The design was not in any way connectedwith aircraft engines or propellers. The idea thatthe blue and white had anything to do with spinningpropellers comes from a 1929 advertisement,which featured aircraft with the image of theRoundel in the rotating propellers. This advertisementcame at the beginning of the GreatDepression, which coincided with BMW acquiringthe license to build Pratt & Whitney radial aircraftengines. The advertising department used theRoundel and BMW heritage in an attempt toBMW Roundel Celebrates 90 YearsA Roundel Myth is Dispelledincrease sales of the new radial motors.The idea of the spinning propellers was givengreater credence in an article by WilhelmFarrenkopf in a BMW journal of 1942. This alsofeatured an image of an aircraft with a spinningRoundel. These were powerful images and thelegend of the spinning propeller was born.The logo was registered on 5 October but itwas in limited use prior to this date. On 1 October1917 Franz Josef Popp was given a certificate confirminghis appointment as General Manager and itwas adorned with the now familiar BMW Roundel.The basic structure of the Roundel hasremained the same over 90 years but there havebeen subtle changes.

In the original design the letteringand outline was in gold, but by the time thefirst BMW motorcycle - the R 32 - was released in1923 it had changed slightly. The letters were stillin gold but the font was bolder and letters closertogether. This was the style that was submitted tothe German Register of Trade Marks in 1933,and the international register of trademarks in1934. This did not however stop various versionsbeing used.One of the early BMW advertisements usingthe logo was in 1918 with the 'Falling Roundels',this was a positioning advertisement that wasdesigned to establish the brand and give anindication to its current and future products.Subsequent advertisements, posters andeven cars and motorcycles also featured manystyles of Roundel.

The proportions changed, theshade of blue used, and the lettering could be ingold, white or silver with serif or sans-serif fonts indifferent sizes. There appears to be no reason forthis variance except for product designers andmarketing and communication staff using personalchoice depending on application.Through the 1950s there was a more concertedeffort to standardize the Roundel. The use ofwhite lettering was now standard and when usedon cars and motorcycles it was silver. By the1960s the serif font was replaced by sans-serif,and this was used on all motorcycles by 1966.There was a subsequent change to a slightlybolder font and this has remained as the standardRoundel. There was flirtation with a 'MotorsportRoundel' in the early 1970s and '80s which had thestandard logo surrounded by the BMW Motorsportcolours. In 1997 BMW moved to having theRoundel depicted in 3-D when used in the printedform. This gives the Roundel a new bolder anddynamic look.The BMW Roundel is now ranked in the topten of the world's most recognized commerciallogos and is an iconic symbol in its own right. Theoriginal design, in its simplicity and symbolismhas stood the test of time.

[sonic_attack 89]

Whats clear is bmw didn't follow the popular art/design movement at the time. It took until the late 70's to lose the serif typeface and fall into the timeless icon it is now. Odd considering the Bauhaus had influence over so much German design after WW1.

[E30 325i Rag-Top 2956]

From what I have been told the idea of the "spinning propeller" came in quite early in the companies history with some of the advertising they ran at the time, and that has become part of the story of the company, but the very first logo was based on the old company and the flag of Bavaria - the region of Germany that BMW was based in at the time.

There is an old logo which even has lines around the outside which makes it look even more like a propeller spinning, just can't find a picture at the moment.

BMW logo

BMW roundel on a 1939 BMW motorcycle

Flag of Bavaria

The name-change to Bayerische Motoren Werke compelled management to devise a new logo for the company, therefore the famous BMW trademark is designed and patented at this time. However, they remained true to the imagery of the previous Rapp Motorenwerke emblem (which was designed by Karl's brother, Ottmar Rapp). Thus, both the old and the new logo were built up in the same way: the company name was placed in a black circle, which was once again given a pictorial form by placing a symbol within it. By analogy with this, the blue and white panels of the Bavarian national flag were placed at the center of the BMW logo. Not until the late 1920s was the logo lent a new interpretation as representing a rotating propeller.^[5] The BMW Trademark, called a "roundel", was submitted for registration on the rolls of the Imperial Patent Office, and registered there with no. 221388 on 10 Dec 1917.

[KwS 2421]

Well i'll be. The more you know

[E30 325i Rag-Top 2956]

This was the advert...

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