Summary

• H-D’s Bar and Shield brand has a wealthy historical past however no designer declare to fame.
• The iconic Harley-Davidson colour scheme was launched early within the firm’s historical past.
• The use of the eagle brand has deep patriotic and advertising roots for the motorbike producer.

Brand logos, that transcend our ever-shifting tastes and likes, might be extraordinarily exhausting to come back by. Just ask any graphic designer, they usually’ll readily inform you how exhausting it’s to give you a brand, let alone a timeless one. Few firms have been blessed with logos which have turn into iconic. You may in all probability rely them on each of your palms and never run out of fingers. Some of the very best are the Nike swoosh, the Apple image, Coca-Cola, and FedEx, with its cleverly hidden arrow.

We even have a couple of legendary logos within the automotive world. Ford, Ferrari, and BMW are all immediately recognizable in their very own proper, whereas motorbike firms have their branding superstars as effectively. Honda has the wing. Triumph has the stylized textual content and Union Jack image. And Harley-Davidson has the well-known Bar and Shield. Today, our focus is on the latter. Although it appears pretty, it hasn’t at all times been this manner for the American manufacturer. H-D had experimented fairly a bit earlier than it settled on what’s now its most enduring image.

In order to provide the most modern and correct data potential, the info used to compile this text was sourced from Harley-Davidson, Brand Crowd, and Brand Fabric.

No One Really Knows Who Designed It

Harley-Davidson has gone by quite a lot of logos all through its historical past. Some of the logos have been text-based. Others integrated an eagle (both stylized or sensible). But the emblem we affiliate with H-D essentially the most is its Bar and Shield icon. Throughout the years, it might have modified its form and colours, however it has at all times remained recognizable. When did it turn into the primary graphic for the Milwaukee model and who was the particular person chargeable for its creation, you ask? Turns out, not even Harley-Davidson might have the definitive reply to these questions.

No Historic Records In The H-D Archives

With fashionable copyright legal guidelines, it is virtually unattainable to not give credit score the place credit score is due. Logos are being designed by the a whole lot, each single day, by highly effective advertising giants like Leo Burnett and small-time freelancers working of their basements. These days, we usually know who made what. But back when Harley-Davidson had started in 1903, issues have been just a little murkier when it got here to documentation.

According to Bill Jackson, Harley-Davidson’s Archives Manager, the earliest gadgets within the archives which have the emblem, date again to a 1910 motorbike catalog. Yet nobody is aware of who got here up with the unique idea. Bill Jackson, Harley-Davidson Archives Manager, stated:

No archival information have confirmed who designed the emblem and what impressed them. Other logos utilized by varied firms over historical past have included shields, crests, and different comparable designs. Harley-Davidson’s design was not the primary, nor the final.

Jackson had additionally indicated that in keeping with a trademark utility (that Harley filed in 1930 with the U.S. Patent Office), the Bar and Shield “has been continuously used and applied to said goods in applicant’s business since May 6, 1910.” So whereas a model of the emblem has been used since 1910, the identify of its designer has been misplaced to time (though some claim it may have been Janet Davidson).

The Black And Orange Scheme Came Early

We’re all aware of the ever present black and orange that Harley makes use of as a part of its branding. It’s plastered on all the pieces, from its web site to its dealerships, and the merchandise it sells. The coloring scheme had initially been launched in 1922 as a part of Harley’s parts and accessories packaging. According to Mr. Jackson, this was how black and orange was primarily utilized by the corporate, for a few years.

Black And Orange As Part Of The Logo

In product catalogs, posters and different print gadgets, the emblem was typically in numerous colour therapies. Other variations are discovered within the shapes of the defend and fonts used.

Bill Jackson, Harley-Davidson Archives Manager

It wasn’t till 1976, when Harley went by a little bit of a re-brand that the orange and black colours had made their approach onto the emblem on a extra constant foundation. Since then, these colours have turn into what we most affiliate with the Milwaukee model, apart from the emblem itself. The black and orange are instantly acknowledged the world over, by bikers and non-riders alike.

Use Of The Eagle May Have Been A Marketing Stunt

With Harley-Davidson being an American motorbike model, it’s maybe unsurprising that a certain quantity of patriotism and symbolism has seeped into its visible vocabulary. Anyone with even a cursory data of H-D is aware of that its bikes are synonymous with a way of freedom. And what higher option to have a good time the American spirit than through the use of the majestic Bald Eagle as an icon?

Breaking Through The Great Depression

Harley-Davidson was in a position to efficiently navigate by the Great Depression, and are available out on high by the point it was over. But it was definitely robust going for HD, and it needed to give you novel advertising concepts to get riders into its dealerships. One such concept was to utilize a stylized eagle iconography on the tank to assist revitalize American satisfaction throughout such a troublesome time.

Harley bikes started exhibiting “wing” graphics within the Nineteen Thirties, which ultimately advanced into full-blown eagle graphics we’re aware of immediately. Typically utilized in celebratory and dealership graphics (and as an indicator of performance), the eagle is now virtually inseparable from the general Harley-Davidson iconography. In truth, riders carrying gear with Harley eagles on it typically achieve this to point their independence, power, and patriotism.

Modern “Diamond” Logo Didn’t Show Up Until The Sixties

The fashionable Harley-Davidson Bar and Shield (or diamond) brand is definitely one of the vital well-known icons on the earth. While Harley makes some really wonderful bikes, it’s also generally known as a way of life model by many. H-D acknowledged its reputation in popular culture a very long time in the past and has been capitalizing on it ever since. Every day, individuals who might not even journey bikes in any respect might be discovered carrying the enduring model’s brand on hats, hoodies, t-shirts, and jackets.

A Unified Brand Strategy

While the Bar and Shield model of the emblem had been used all through Harley’s historical past, it wasn’t till 1963 that HD determined to modernize and simplify it. According to Jackson, the Sixties brand (nicknamed the “diamond logo”) could be the one which endured into the current day.

The intent was for the emblem to extra carefully match the form of a bike fuel tank. Technically, the 1963 mannequin yr would mark the primary time the emblem was used on H-D motorbike fuel tanks.

Bill Jackson, Harley-Davidson Archives Manager

The first use of the modern-day brand on a fuel tank of a Harley-Davidson motorbike was in 1977, with the XLCR Cafe Racer being the primary such mannequin. Having reintroduced the Bar and Shield badge (initially taken from a monogram patch bought approach again in 1931), the corporate had lastly solidified its branding technique by making the orange and black colours a everlasting fixture as effectively.