The bear is an animal whose image has inspired people since ancient times, becoming the hero of tales, myths, and legends across different cultures. Its strength was respected, feared, and revered all at once, as it was endowed with extraordinary qualities. In many cultures, the bear symbolized the spirit of forests, the guardian of nature’s mysteries, a wise advisor, and a formidable protector. Companies choosing a bear for their logo seek to adopt some of its natural charisma.
Featuring a bear in a brand’s logo is an attempt to demonstrate to the audience that they’re dealing with something substantial, serious, and reliable. It can be the aggressive and energetic image of a predator typical of sports teams, aiming to emphasize strength and ambition. Conversely, a warm and cute teddy bear conveys care and comfort, reflecting the company’s or product’s domestic character.
In commerce and sports, the bear is a universal symbol suitable for various brands. From fierce northern bears symbolizing freshness and coolness to friendly teddy bears promising comfort and softness, each brand choosing this image seeks to convey something unique.
In this article, we will look closer at well-known brands that use bears in their logos and try to understand why this animal is so attractive and in demand in emblem design.
Bear Naked Granola
Suppose you take a glance at the Bear Naked Granola logo. In that case, you might easily miss the small hidden image of a bear, seamlessly integrated into the letter “K.” This subtle detail hints at the naturalness of the company’s products, as if this wild animal quietly oversees the quality of the ingredients. The brown color and smooth-lined font help create a sense of naturalness and closeness to organic products.
Fresno Grizzlies
The visual representation shows a bear in a dynamic attacking stance. Its movements, sharp as gusts of wind, are emphasized by claw marks tearing through the brand’s lettering. These marks symbolize aggression and the team’s offensive tactics, making the image more emotional and vivid. The bear in the Fresno Grizzlies’ emblem is associated with wild strength, speed, and relentless struggle until the very last second of the game.
Haribo
The amusing bear on the Haribo logo is the face of the world’s beloved gummy candies. Its image reflects the cheerful character of the brand, evoking sweet childhood memories. The yellow bear with a red bow, the company’s mascot, is a hero representing smiles, friendship, and positive emotions. The logo’s colors echo the palette of the company’s popular product, bright and sweet gummy bears.
Grizzly
The bear image in the Grizzly brand’s logo looks stern and aggressive, emphasizing the strong and uncompromising character of the products. The bear is depicted roaring with its mouth open, creating a tense and primal atmosphere. The black-and-white graphic and rough, dynamic font complement the emotional message of the brand, highlighting its masculinity and toughness. The bear symbol visually expresses determination and confidence, conveying the energy and spirit of the brand.
Tennessee Smokies
The bear in the Tennessee Smokies logo embodies the spirit of baseball and the natural environment of Tennessee. The animal is depicted as calm and confident, holding a bat, ready to step into the game. The bear is surrounded by mountains colored in vivid red and blue shades, highlighting the club’s connection with the local landscape, the Great Smoky Mountains. The bright colors and energetic lettering create an atmosphere of active, engaging sports, while the bear strengthens the sense of the team’s power and reliability.
Central Arkansas Bears
The Central Arkansas Bears team chose unexpected and expressive colors, purple and gray, giving the bear special charisma and expressiveness. The animal’s fierce gaze and open mouth with sharp fangs complement the team’s aggressive and athletic identity. The color combination creates a sense of power and dynamism, highlighting this Arkansas team’s vibrant and ambitious style, for whom the bear symbolizes a winning mindset.
Polar Beverages
American brand Polar Beverages features a white bear on its logo, whose smooth contours evoke a feeling of icy freshness. The bear stands against a circular golden sun background, seemingly demonstrating a balance between the icy cold and pleasant warmth the company’s beverages provide consumers. At the bottom is the bold, vivid inscription “Polar,” crafted in large, expressive letters, adding extra energy and dynamism to the entire logo.
Mercer Bears
The Mercer Bears selected a bright and contrasting style for their logo. The bear’s head, drawn in black and white lines against an orange “M,” conveys the traditional combination of strength and competitive spirit typical of athletic teams. With an open mouth and gaze directed forward, the bear expresses the club’s continuous drive for development. The colors and symbolism underline the team’s confidence, ambition, and uncompromising character.
Gentle Ben’s
The inspiration for the name and visual style of Gentle Ben’s restaurant and brewery in Tucson, Arizona, came from the friendly bear of the eponymous TV series. The logo features the bear’s recognizable figure with the initials “GB” inside the animal’s silhouette. The bear appears solid yet friendly, harmoniously conveying the establishment’s atmosphere, which is known for its hospitality and a warm, relaxed ambiance. The black-and-white palette adds stylistic simplicity, helping focus on the brand’s essence.
Hershey Bears
The Hershey Bears are one of the oldest hockey teams, where the bear is part of the club tradition. Its visual style incorporates shades of milk chocolate, alluding to the history of Hershey, the city famous for its chocolate factory. The bear looks serious, massive, and ready for battle on the ice. The animal symbol stands atop a hockey stick, highlighting the team’s sporting connection and showcasing the club’s calm, confident strength.
Charlotte Checkers
The Charlotte Checkers’ polar bear appears fierce and stern, emphasizing the icy nature of the hockey team. The animal’s head is stylized with sharp lines and contrasting shades of white and black, fitting neatly within the club’s triangular symbol, crowned with a city skyline silhouette. The bear’s image suggests the strength and determination to win tough ice competitions.
Toblerone
The Toblerone chocolate logo features a hidden puzzle that reflects the brand’s history and birthplace. On the yellow peak of the Matterhorn, a subtly concealed silhouette of a bear is visible, referencing the Swiss city of Bern, the company’s hometown, whose name translates directly to “bear.” This symbolic depiction creates an intriguing visual perception, emphasizing the chocolate’s national identity and uniqueness.
Bärenjäger
The honey liqueur Bärenjäger’s logo resembles an illustration of an old fairy tale book. We see a bear and a hunter, both busy gathering honey. However, unlike typical scenarios, the animal and the man are not rivals but participants in a magical story. The bear symbolizes natural strength and a love for sweets, while the hunter image serves as a reminder of traditional German recipes and ancient secrets of liqueur-making.
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a team with a rich history whose traditions are embodied in the expressive symbol of a bear staring directly into the viewer’s eyes. The animal’s head is rendered in bold, dark blue and red colors, enhancing the impression of aggressiveness and energy. The bear is depicted with an open mouth, as if captured mid-roar, emphasizing the team’s passion and strength. Such an image symbolizes fighting spirit and confidence, serving as the recognizable face of the club.
Knoxville Ice Bears
In the Knoxville Ice Bears logo, the bear resembles a fantasy hero from contemporary comics, bold, energetic, and armed with a hockey stick. The combination of orange, gray, and purple creates an energetic mood and highlights the team’s ambitions. The bear’s figure is expressive, and its aggressive attitude represents the team’s tactics based on speed, strength, and constant pressure on opponents.
Alaska Nanooks
The polar bear in the Alaska Nanooks emblem is depicted in a pose characteristic of the animal walking forward. The symbol conveys the atmosphere of the harsh Arctic region where polar bears live. The yellow and blue palette evokes the cold northern sky and Alaska’s endless icy expanses. The bear symbolizes indomitable strength, adaptation to challenging conditions, and readiness to confidently face difficulties.
Memphis Grizzlies
The Memphis Grizzlies portray their grizzly bear quite differently: it’s stern, reserved, and cold, but its golden eyes reveal depth of character and hidden power. The palette, based on shades of blue, references the Mississippi River, on whose banks the city of Memphis is located. The bear in this symbolism embodies resilience, intelligence, and composure during the game’s most intense moments, while the contemporary lettering emphasizes the club’s relevance and youthful spirit.
Smokey Bear
Smokey Bear is the legendary image of an American forest ranger. His well-known logo, a friendly bear wearing a ranger’s hat, symbolizes environmental care and wildfire prevention. The black-and-white engraving makes the bear appear reminiscent of an old-fashioned sign, creating an impression of reliability and respect. The mascot of the Forest Service is perceived as a wise guardian of forests, urging people to protect nature and remember safety.
Missouri State Bears
The Missouri State Bears feature a bear depicted in a minimalist, geometric style with a deep brown-red hue. The sharp lines forming the animal’s head look modern and dynamic, conveying strength and seriousness. The color scheme is associated with the earth and the university’s traditional roots. The bear’s image communicates the reliability, firmness, and stability of a team that is confident in its power.
Build-A-Bear Workshop
The Build-A-Bear Workshop logo resembles a cheerful children’s game, offering viewers the friendly face of a teddy bear with an open gaze and charming smile. The cute yellow bear invites you to help create handmade toys. The company name, depicted in bright, multicolored letters that imitate fabric texture, underscores the playful and creative character of the brand. In this case, the bear symbolizes childhood, warmth, and joy, supporting the overall atmosphere of fairy tales and fun.
Montana Grizzlies
The Montana Grizzlies team’s grizzly bear advances step by step, as if preparing to enter a fierce confrontation. Its brown and black shades reflect the naturalness and wildness of Montana’s mountainous environment. The bear is an athletic symbol, reflecting the region’s rugged, untamed character and ready to defend its independence. The maroon-colored lettering completes the image, emphasizing the team’s serious attitude toward competition and commitment to preserving sports traditions.
Cornell Big Red
The bear symbol resembles a charismatic cartoon character for the Cornell Big Red team, but its fierce snarl reveals a far from friendly disposition. Acting as a guardian or protector, the bear grips the red letter “C” with its paws, indicating its readiness to defend team interests and the university’s honor. The red letter represents team spirit, while the bear conveys fearlessness and steadfastness in any athletic competition.
Polar Bear Vodka
The stylized polar bear on the Polar Bear Vodka logo appears refined and minimalist. The animal’s silhouette conveys an atmosphere of coldness and purity, aligning with the product. The blue hues of the logo point to the drink’s icy freshness, while the modern font complements the restrained image. The bear in this logo evokes harsh yet beautiful Arctic landscapes, reflecting the premium nature of the vodka.
Ursa
The company Ursa chose the image of a bear, as its name derives from the Latin word for bear. The symbolism of a mother bear and cub depicted in blue expresses ideas of reliability, warmth, and care, aligning with the company’s activities in thermal insulation materials. The simplicity and clarity of the animal silhouettes, combined with the bright red lettering, create a confident brand image that inspires trust.
Brown Bears
In the Brown Bears emblem, the bear is depicted differently, without excessive aggression but with an expression of assured strength and dignity. The reddish-brown color scheme adds depth to the logo, recalling the animal’s natural coloring and strengthening the sense of closeness to nature. The bear’s calm yet serious gaze conveys the resilience, confidence, and respect that characterize the team. The stylized inscription above the animal’s head highlights the brand’s enduring traditions.
Pawtucket Red Sox
The white bear in the Pawtucket Red Sox logo appears more like the team’s cheerful friend than a fierce defender. It greets fans in the stands with a baseball cap and gloves on its paws. The character embodies friendliness, sports enthusiasm, and positive emotions characteristic of a family atmosphere at a baseball game. The combination of blue, white, and red colors adds a patriotic and communal spirit to the symbol.
Kodiak Cakes
Kodiak Cakes selected a wild bear for its brand image, which seems ready to defend its territory. The bear, roaring in the brand’s circular emblem surrounded by wheat stalks, symbolizes the natural strength that nature provides. The imagery highlights the company’s commitment to natural ingredients and a strong connection to tradition. The Kodiak bear has long symbolized the power and wilderness of Alaska, from which the brand draws its inspiration.
Bärenmarke
The Bärenmarke emblem reflects all the tenderness present in the relationship between mother and child. The image of a mother bear gently holding her cub gives the brand warmth and heartfelt sincerity. The color scheme of white, red, and blue adds a sense of purity and freshness, harmonizing with the company’s products, which are dairy goods that have been beloved in Germany for many years.
Mobile BayBears
The Mobile BayBears team’s logo combines a bear with a baseball, highlighting the spirit of classic American sports. The deep blue color of the bear creates an atmosphere of seriousness and professionalism, and its aggressive stance evokes the strength and fearlessness of a baseball team ready to attack on the field. The bear in the composition symbolizes energy and the drive for victory, while the soft retro lettering gives the brand a touch of nostalgia and tradition.
Radiohead
The bear image in Radiohead’s logo appears abstract and unsettling, reflecting the band’s musical style, deep and filled with emotional tension. Artist Stanley Donwood, creating this drawing, intentionally gave the bear sharp, angular forms and unusual round eyes, hinting at the mystery and unpredictability of the group’s creative output. The bear visually conveys feelings of anxiety, struggle, and searching, characteristics found in many Radiohead compositions.
Oakland Golden Grizzlies
The bear’s face in the Oakland Golden Grizzlies logo embodies the sports character of the team, straightforward, assertive, and uncompromising. The bear’s sharp contours, bold lines, and expressive eyes create the image of an opponent ready for any challenge. The logo’s color palette, in golden-brown and black tones, is associated with university traditions, emphasizing its athletic prestige and authority.
Nelvana
Canadian studio Nelvana chose a bear gazing upward toward a bright blue star as its visual image. The direction of the bear’s gaze and its pose create an atmosphere of dreams and inspiration, and the star symbol underscores the studio’s fantasy and creative potential, which is known for producing animated series and films for children. The cold blue shades strengthen the association with the northern regions where polar bears live and reflect the company’s Canadian roots.
Orlando Solar Bears
The Orlando Solar Bears approached their symbol creatively and playfully. The polar bear, wearing dark sunglasses and casually leaning on a hockey stick, harmoniously blends Florida’s hot climate with the icy nature of hockey. An orange sun radiates around the bear, evoking warmth and positive energy. The animal’s image reflects not aggression but confidence, freedom, and enjoyment of the game, reflecting the club’s optimistic style.
California Republic
The bear on the California Republic flag and logo is a well-known historical symbol of the region, emphasizing independence and the state’s character. The depiction of a powerful animal stepping forward conveys ideas of freedom, strength, and pride. The bear, which became the emblem of the famous “Bear Flag Revolt” in the mid-19th century, symbolizes independence and the residents’ desire to protect their territory and traditions. The red star on the flag adds a revolutionary spirit and determination to the state’s identity.
Brown Bear Car Wash
The minimalist bear in the Brown Bear Car Wash logo looks more like a toy than a predator. Its simple shape and soft lines create a friendly and carefree image, inviting customers to relax while their cars become sparkling clean. The bright, contrasting colors blue, orange, and green emphasize the freshness and positivity for which the company is known.
Baylor Bears
The Baylor Bears logo presents the image of a bear from an unexpected angle: the animal is depicted in bright green, giving it a whimsical, somewhat fantastical character. The bear swings a powerful paw with extended claws, symbolizing the team’s aggressive attitude. The comic-book style of the image evokes associations with energy, excitement, and readiness to go all the way to achieve victory.
Vancouver Grizzlies
The Vancouver Grizzlies basketball team depicts a bear ready for battle on its logo. The bear bursts beyond the logo’s borders, holding a basketball in its paw and aggressively displaying its sharp claws. The bold letters of the team’s name appear like a massive wall, but the bear can overcome even this. The imagery illustrates the team’s dynamic play and determination to succeed amidst tough competition.
Ursus
The Polish agricultural machinery brand Ursus chose a bear symbol because the company’s name translates to “bear” from Latin. The red silhouette of a bear is integrated within a gear, symbolizing heavy industry and durability. This visualization suggests that the company’s machinery is as reliable and strong as a wild animal, capable of withstanding the toughest loads and challenges in the fields.
Minnesota Wild
The Minnesota Wild team from the National Hockey League has one of the most mysterious bear logos. The animal’s outlines are artfully formed by silhouettes of coniferous trees and a winding river, with a golden sun and a falling star adding an element of intrigue. The bear embodies the hockey team’s strength and symbolizes Minnesota’s wilderness, where hockey is integral to the cultural heritage and everyday life.
Russian Premier League
The bear, chosen as the face of the Russian Premier League soccer, is depicted concisely and graphically. The animal’s outline is black, complemented by red and blue contours representing the national flag. The white eyes and nose against the black silhouette create a tough, strict gaze, reflecting an atmosphere of seriousness and athletic competition. Artemy Lebedev Studio created the design, and it is not accidental that the shape of the bear’s head resembles a pentagon associated with segments of a soccer ball, emphasizing the brand’s affiliation with soccer.
Golden Bear Jack Nicklaus
The golden bear in the Jack Nicklaus brand logo is depicted in a refined style, showcasing elegance and prestige. The golden bear symbolizes the personal nickname of the famous golfer Jack Nicklaus, renowned for his exceptional sports career. The smooth, flowing lines of the gold-colored logo reflect Nicklaus’s achievements and symbolize reliability, quality, and the high status associated with his name in the worlds of sports and golf.
Northern Colorado Bears
The Northern Colorado Bears logo represents a bear with quiet confidence and inner strength. The vivid golden-yellow and deep blue colors emphasize the university’s ambition and determination. The stylized animal face appears restrained, communicating athletic discipline and confidence. The bear symbol reflects power, reliability, and steadfastness in pursuing high achievements on and off the field.
Snuggle
It’s hard to imagine anything softer or homier than a teddy bear. That’s exactly why the Snuggle fabric softener brand chose one, promising gentle softness and clothing comfort after using their product. The light-yellow bear with large, friendly eyes warmly hugs a fluffy towel. The designers conveyed an atmosphere of warmth and cleanliness, and the plush toy naturally complements the brand’s image of caring for comfort and coziness.
West Virginia Black Bears
The West Virginia Black Bears team emblem evokes a mysterious story told around a campfire at night. The bear is depicted against a backdrop of dark mountains, with a baseball stylized as the moon rising behind them. This image speaks of the hidden strength, calmness, and caution of a team ready to strike when the opponent least expects it. Dark blue and yellow colors accentuate the night’s atmosphere and the mystery inherent in the bear’s wild character.
Care Bears
Care Bears is one of the most unusual brands, using a bear in its imagery. Instead of the typical stern and powerful image, the central figure is a plush teddy bear radiating warmth and care. The soft animal, comfortably perched atop a red heart, symbolizes kindness and emotional closeness, matching the brand’s overall atmosphere. The heart on the bear’s belly repeats the main symbol, highlighting the friendly and caring attitude the creators embed into their products.
Bear Brand
Nestlé’s Bear Brand emphasizes care and product healthfulness through the good-natured image of a bear holding a glass of milk. Surrounding the bear are vibrant shades of red and blue, emphasizing the beverage’s energy and nourishment. The bear in the logo appears relaxed and happy, indicating the brand’s commitment to quality and reliability in dairy products for the entire family.
Maine Black Bears
The Maine Black Bears image reflects the nature of the state of Maine: harsh, cold, and uncontrollable. Gray and black colors are blended in sharp lines, creating a mood of aggression and wildness. The open mouth with a vivid red hue and sharp white fangs symbolizes readiness to fight without sparing effort. In contrast, behind the bear sits the calm state name in sky-blue shades, highlighting tranquility beyond the arena, where the animal is ready to display ferocity and perseverance.
Utah Grizzlies
The Utah Grizzlies hockey team’s logo features a bear charging into an attack. Its fierce gaze, open mouth, and massive claws amplify the feeling of strength and energy. The broken hockey stick in the animal’s paws makes it look like the team has already entered a fierce struggle and intends to continue the fight at any cost. Snow-capped mountain peaks in the background add drama and remind viewers of the harsh conditions in which Utah hockey players forge their character.
Belmont Bruins
The Belmont Bruins logo shows a bear opening its mouth in an intimidating roar, revealing its fierce nature and unstoppable determination. The red, white, and blue tricolor reflects national colors and adds athletic solidity to the image. The emotional intensity of the bear symbol underscores the team’s spirit and ability to resist pressure and overcome obstacles on the path to success.
Morgan State Bears
The Morgan State Bears logo features a bear in an energetic pose that is both challenging and friendly. Light shades of beige and black give it a stylish, almost artistic appearance. The bear isn’t portrayed as a predator but a sports competitor ready for open and fair competition. The expressiveness of the animal’s gestures on the emblem strengthens the impression of the team’s readiness to compete and demonstrates their athletic spirit, transforming the symbol into an emotional representation of collegiate sports.
Conclusion
The diverse interpretations of the bear symbol allow it to remain relevant for brands across completely different fields, whether sports clubs seeking to showcase strength, aggression, and determination, or manufacturers of children’s goods and food products that emphasize a cute and gentle bear cub image evoking comfort and trust among consumers. The animal has become a universal symbol due to its ability to embody completely contrasting qualities, from incredible strength and courage to gentleness, warmth, and care. The bear is a universal symbol, allowing brands to establish an emotional connection with people, conveying a part of the strength, wisdom, or warmth humans have always sought and found in this remarkable creature.