Logo Evolution of Famous Brands (Cadillac logo history)

The original logo is loosely based on the family crest of Antoine de La Mothe, Sieur de Cadillac; obviously the guy the company was named after. Sieur de Cadillac was a French explorer who poked around the Michigan area of North America in the late 1600s/early 1700s. 

The logo first appeared on cars way back in 1902, and it featured little bird figures called merlettes. Those first logos were surrounded by a fancy wreath, and were topped with a stately crown. Cadillac was all about quality and precision, and that opulent logo would never work on something like, say, a Model T. 

The Cadillac Shield: This shield is divided into 4 parts. The first part is the crown that refers to the association of the Cadillac family with the six ancient counts of the France. The second part is the outer surface, a circular small-crowns-embossed-ring, which refers to the Crusade shields. The third part is the first and fourth quarter of the inner ring. Displaying arms de la Mothe, these quarters contain Merlette birds set in a Holy Trinity trios, referring to the adaptations of Martin. The black bar represents services of the Cadillac family in the Crusade wars. The remaining parts of these quarters show the wisdom and riches of this family. The last part of the Cadillac Shield is the second and the third quarter. These quarters contain three colors; red – showing the power in action, silver – showing the purity and virtue and blue showing the knightly spunk.

The Cadillac Shield was the first logo of the Cadillac automotive company. The similar logo was used with a little moderation from 1906 to 1925. In 1908, the trademark ‘Standard of the World’ was added when the company was awarded with the Dewar trophy.

The Evolution of Logos with the Year.

In 1930s, classicism was added with unique moderations in the outer ring.

In 1938, the body of Cadillac cars was designed in a more streamlined manner. The fashion of hoody cars was going, and Cadillac was among the first line automotive producers to adopt the latest trends. The 1938 and 1939 logos were streamlined, though the central Cadillac shield was not changed at all.

After WW2, Cadillac adopted a totally different trademark, a symbol of victory of America… the alphabet V. In the 1940s, the new logo was introduced which showed as a V in total. The similar V style was used from the 1940s to 1960s. In the 1960s, the wreathed crest style was adopted which is still used in the company’s logo. It is believed that the works of Cadillac are inspired by Piet Mondrian.