Logos

The Möbius strip is found in a wide variety of logos throughout the world, of which to the uninitiated are not perhaps realised. Two in particular have acquired a degree of fame, namely the recycling and Expo '74 symbols. See the dedicated subpage for an in-depth discussion on these.

Researching these is trying at times. Background details range from an abundance to nothing. And then one has to assess sometimes lengthy documents for relevant details not always easily found. A lot here simply collates material in the public domain but is scattered. It is not a particularly creative task, but one of merely organising. Time is always a consideration. Wading through lengthy documents is not my thing for relative unimportance. This being so, these entries are best considered a basic standard, commensurate with the time I allocated to the task. I simply give an overview as best I can.

Quite how best to organise these is unclear. For the sake of a modicum of order of sorts, I place chronologically where known, or if not, of an approximation.

1967, IMPA (Possibly 1965) 

The Instituto Nacional de Matemática Pura e Aplicada (National Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics) is considered the foremost research and educational institution of Brazil in mathematics. It is located in Rio de Janeiro and was formerly known as Instituto de Matemática Pura e Aplicada (IMPA), whose abbreviation remains in use.

The exact circumstances as to its instigation remain unclear. It is stated that

The shape was chosen as IMPA's logo during the management of former director Lindolpho de Carvalho Dias.

IMPA gives the dates of his directorship as 1965-1969, 1971, and 1979-1980. Given that the logo appears on a postage stamp commemorating the 6th Brazilian Mathematics Colloquium at IMPA in 1967. This correlates with his first directorship. Therefore a date of 1967 is the latest of the instigation, and possibly of 1965. 

1972, Recycling Symbol 

See the dedicated subpage for an in-depth discussion.

1974, Expo '74 

See the dedicated subpage for an in-depth discussion.

1975 (possibly much earlier), Canadian Mathematical Society 

The Canadian Mathematical Society (CMS; French: Société mathématique du Canada) is an association of professional mathematicians dedicated to the interests of mathematical research, outreach, scholarship and education in Canada. It serves the national community through the publication of academic journals, community bulletins, and the administration of mathematical competitions. Wikipedia

The society was founded in 1945

Details are sketchy, if not sparse. Surprisingly, for such a prominent body, there is no official discussion on the logo. The earliest recorded date is March, 1975, in the first issue of Crux Mathematicorum (originally EUREKA). I will place it under that date pending further details.

Quite why there is half of a maple leaf is unclear. 

1983, International Mathematique Olympiade, Paris 

The International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) is a mathematical olympiad for pre-university students and is the oldest of the International Science Olympiads. It is "the most prestigious" mathematical competition in the world. The first IMO was held in Romania in 1959. It has since been held annually, except in 1980. More than 100 countries participate. Each country sends a team of up to six students, plus one team leader, one deputy leader, and observers. Wikipedia

This logo has proved impossible to research; I have nothing at all! The first of two IMO logos. Also, see the 1992 entry.

1992, International Mathematical Olympiad, Moscow 

This logo has proved impossible to research; I have nothing to add at all! 

C. 1996. United Kingdom Mathematics Trust 

The United Kingdom Mathematics Trust (UKMT) is a charity founded in 1996 to help with the education of children in mathematics within the UK.

This logo has proved impossible to research; I have next nothing at all! I have only been able to find out when the trust was formed, in 1996, and so I tentatively place the logo under that date. Interestingly, there are two versions, likely updates, the second is as shown currently on their website.

The second logo was apparently by the Northern Bear design agency in Lichfield, England. At least since 2014 

2000? Possibly much earlier, Dresdner Bank 

Dresdner Bank AG was a German bank, founded in 1872 in Dresden, then headquartered in Berlin from 1884 to 1945 and in Frankfurt from 1963 onwards after a postwar hiatus. Long Germany's second-largest bank behind Deutsche Bank, it was eventually acquired by Commerzbank in May 2009 (see next entry).
Researching this is frustrating, with next to no detail as to the instigation. The green logo is also known as the "Band of Sympathy".
It was apparently designed by Interbrand Corporation. Interbrand has been a world-leading brand consultancy, for over 45 years – having pioneered iconic work and forged many of the brand-building tools that are commonplace across the industry today.
https://goodlogo.com/designers/interbrand-1295

Presumably, a Möbius strip is intended. The earliest dated use of the logo is 2000 (outside a London branch), and so I will tentatively date from there. It could be much earlier, possibly decades.

2002, Mobius Risk Group 

Founded in 2002 and headquartered in Houston, Texas, Mobius Risk Group is a leading energy advisory, hedging, marketing, strategy, technology, and risk management firm. With over $30 billion in annual transaction support, we have established ourselves as experts in the ever-changing global energy and commodities markets.

Amazingly, nothing is on their site as regards the naming and logo! I will place it under 2002 pending further details. 

2009, Commerzbank 

Commerzbank is a leading corporate bank in Germany and Europe, as well as a leading capital markets house. Limited background discussion is given by the company and a logo site, although no direct mention is made in either of the Möbius strip!:

Commerzbank (1):
The merger of Commerzbank and Dresdner Bank has brought a new Commerzbank into being. In October 2009, the bank unveiled its new brand. The joint new brand identity is a visible symbol of this integration. The new brand and logotype is composed of three elements: the Commerzbank name in new font, the colour yellow and a three-dimensional ribbon, enhancing the Dresdner Bank logo. Since November 2012, the new brand positioning „fairness and competence“ and the new claim „The bank at your side“ clearly align Commerzbank’s actions on customers’ interest and their satisfaction.

Commerzbank (2):

In October 2009, Commerzbank unveiled its new logo. The three-dimensional yellow ribbon is a further enhancement of the Dresdner Bank logotype and visibly combines both banks. In November 2012, Commerzbank introduced its new brand positioning “fairness and competence” and the new claim “The bank at your side”, expressing the bank’s overall strategy.

1000logos.net

When Commerzbank acquired Dresdner Bank in 2008, it adopted a new brand identity, which also reflected this acquisition.

The ribbon design seen on the current Commerzbank logo was borrowed from the logo of Dresdner Bank. According to the company, each of the three segments of the ribbon has a meaning: they represent employees, customers, and business partners. The three dimensions symbolize dynamism, continuity, and stability. The bank used to have a flat logo earlier, though.

While you can come across older versions of the Commerzbank logo in green, the current ribbon is yellow. This color is part of the company’s heritage. For instance, in 1984, an advertising campaign featured the sun. The yellow looks vibrant and full of energy representing self-assurance and performance.

Next to the ribbon, the name of the bank can be seen in a bold sans looking perfectly clean and legible. The type is supposed to convey stability and quality, according to the bank’s website. 

This Mobius strip is a left-handed strip with 3 half-twists.

C. 2009, UK Payments Administration 

The UK Payments Administration Ltd (UKPA) is a United Kingdom service company that provides people, facilities and expertise to the UK payments industry.

UKPA was created on 6 July 2009,... (Wikipedia)

No explanation is given on UK Payments website (or elsewhere) as to the reason for the Möbius strip logo. Again this is frustrating to research, with no detail. The logo appears to have been discontinued upon a name change to UK Pay.

2009, German Mathematicians Association (DMV) 

Researching this is frustrating. I have a date, 2009, and a desire from the association for a change of logo, and that’s about it! This is even more surprising from such a major mathematical body. 

2012, Google Drive 

Google has used three versions, beginning 2012.

Somewhat surprisingly, with a prominent source, little background detail is in the public domain. The logo was designed by Strohl Inc., a Graphic Design Studio in San Francisco. They state:
Inspired by the Möbius strip, the symbol represents the syncing, sharing and accessibility of your files and data. 

The icon was developed in careful consideration with Google’s existing product matrix, integrating gradients and colors from established palettes. The mark's overall geometry was carefully designed to harmoniously coexist with Google's other icons, ensuring seamless integration within the brand's visual ecosystem.

And that’s it! No single artist is credited on their site, albeit at least the Möbius strip is alluded to. No reference is made to the colouring. However, other logo sites give more detail. However, somewhat alarmingly, no reference is made to the Möbius strip. And furthermore, basic descriptions are inaccurate. Therefore, although I take the background given at face value, this is largely at trust.

1000 logos gives

Meaning and history

As the software itself is based on three main options, which are Google Docs, Google Sheets and Google Slides, each side of the Google Drive’s emblem is colored in the main shade of each program. So blue is for Docs, green is for Sheets, and yellow is for Slides.

The shape of the Google Drive logo is also very symbolic. Triangle reflects data protection. It is a commonly used symbol of information security, which is formed by three principles: confidentiality, integrity, and availability. One principle per one side.

2014 – 2020

The Google Drive logo is modern and actual. It is instantly recognizable and has an important message hidden in it.

2020 – Today

In 2020 the Google Drive logo was redesigned again. The new concept is fully based on the original one, but the iconic geometric badge of 2020 is flat and bright. The angles of the figure are softened and the three main fragments form three triangles on the overlapping areas — red, dark blue, and moss green.

Icon

The icon of Google Drive is executed in the iconic corporate color palette of Google — green, yellow, red, and blue — not to leave any doubt of the affiliation to the corporation. The image looks like a wide multicolor ribbon, folded into a triangle, with three peaks squared, having its edges overlapping and creating more intense colors.

Compared to three other colors, the red takes the least space on the Google Drive icon, as o my one small triangle in the bottom right corner of the composition is colored red.

The whole image is set on a plain white background, which elevated the brightness and energy of the graphical element, making it instantly recognizable and eye-catching.

Font and Color

The Google Drive logo is just a graphical icon, which looks the same on mobile apps and the web, and is only accompanied by a letting in rare cases. Although, when there is an inscription near the Google Drive emblem, it is set in the corporate Google typeface, a modern sans-serif with full shapes of letters and clean contours. The typeface, used by Google for all of its products is Product sans, a geometric font, which is based on such types as Futura and Avenir.

As for the color palette of the Google Drive visual identity, it also follows the corporate style and uses an iconic Google scheme — green, yellow, red, and blue, where red is used for the smallest fragments no. These colors make the badge instantly recognizable and show its affiliation with Google Corporation.

2014, New Development Bank 

The New Development Bank (NDB), formerly referred to as the BRICS Development Bank, is a multilateral development bank established by the BRICS states (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa). It was founded in July 2014 (Treaty signed)

Arguably, the NDB entry is open to question, as a Möbius strip is not overt. However, as it is described and credited, I have decided to include it nonetheless. 

For NDB, the design principles that needed to be encoded we realized, were agility, innovation, sustainability and transparency. And this quest led us to the Mobius [sic] strip, a stable yet infinite form that symbolizes the idea of continuous transformation.

Its nature is not to disrupt, rather, it participates in the existing system and becomes the change. And this transformation was the inspiration behind the identity we created for NDB.

The new identity consisted of a triangle in motion at one end, signifying balanced evolution. A propeller at the other end signified speed and dynamism. The identity was held together by a wire-frame. The wireframe symbolized infrastructure, while the green colour embodied sustainability. And thus we’d encoded agility, innovation, sustainability and transparency in the new identity of NDB.

DY Works

The basis of our logo combines a #Mobius strip & a stable triangle base. The mobius strip represents continuous transformation - the core of NDB's brand. The triangle symbolizes sustainable equilibrium & represents NDB’s vision of bringing about transformation in elementary ways

New Development Bank, Twitter, 2018

The logo consists of a triangle in motion at one end signifying balanced evolution. The other end, moving in the opposite direction, is a propeller that represents speed and dynamism. These two entities are held together by a wireframe, the skeletal basic of infrastructure. The logo is rendered in gradient of green that symbolizes sustainability. This constant motion symbolizes the values that the bank strives to live by – agility, innovation and continuous transformation.

Wikipedia, New Development Bank

C. 2016, IBanFirst 

iBanFirst is a financial service provider offering payment solutions to SMEs operating internationally.

No explanation is given on iBanFirst’s website (or elsewhere) as to the reason for the Möbius strip logo 

The company was founded founded in 2016, and so I thus tentatively date from there

Again, reseaching this is frustrating. Two logos are given, likely updates. It was apparently designed by ‘Callmelord’ a design/brand agency, with branches in New York and France. No direct reference is made to the Monvis strip, although it is alluded to. Ibanfirst blog, 3 May 2023

And let's not forget our revamped logo – the infinity symbol remains at the heart of it all, representing our forward-thinking mindset and our commitment to unlocking the power of a borderless world. We’ve given it a little makeover to keep up with the times and blend seamlessly with the rest of our new look.

iBanFirst has quickly established itself as the leading alternative for businesses that trade and carry out international payments. iBanFirst offers a next-generation cross-border payment experience that combines a powerful platform and the support of FX experts. With iBanFirst, executives and finance teams can get direct access to currency markets, receive, send and track payments and develop tailored hedging strategies.

2019, Léman Express 

The Léman Express is a recent (2019) rail route that connects Geneva to the Alps. The rail network's logo is formed of a Möbius strip of “fjord blue” color recalling the general shape of Lake Geneva as well as the color of the water and is formed of two lines reminiscent of railway rails.

The logo was designed by Base Design, an international network of creative studios specializing

in branding and communications. Reference is made by the agency (2017) to the Möbius strip, which seemingly translates to a travel premise:

Léman Express. What's behind the logo.
Imagined by the mathematician August Möbius in 1858…If you pass your finger around this ribbon, you automatically arrive at the other side…We therefore seek through this symbol to represent a continuous and permanent link which goes beyond the notion of border. Timeless, fluid, in harmony and in movement, this logo is formally linked to the rail and to Lake Geneva.

This Mobius strip is left-handed with one half-twist.

Created 28 June 2024 (from existing text of 10 May 2024). Last updated 3 July 2024