Travelodge logo is either genius or terrible design.
Another day, another baffling logo. We've seen all manner of designs with double meanings or supposedly secret messages lately, and here's another. UK budget hotel chain Travelodge has seen its logo has gone viral on TikTok, with a video revealing what the design is actually supposed to depict. And it might not be what you thought.
The video (below) reveals that, rather than mountains and a sunset as many believe, the Travelodge logo in fact depicts a person sleeping under a duvet. It's hardly one of the best logos of all time, but is this particular example cleverer than it looks – or is it simply badly designed?
"How old were you when you realised the Travelodge logo is people sleeping under a duvet?" the video asks, while the camera points at a branch of the definitely-not-luxury hotel chain. And the overwhelming majority of commenters were, yes, "today years old".
Most users were stunned to discover that the logo isn't actually designed to show an idyllic landscape. "That’s why people ask what I’m talking about when I say 'that hotel with the mountains as their logo'", one user comments, while another adds, "I refuse to believe this is not a sunset and mountains."
Is it mountains, a sleeping person, or both? (Image credit: Travelodge)
Which leads us to the question: is the double visual meaning intentional? While many logo design Easter eggs are clearly deliberate, such as the video game logo with 7 hidden images, this one's a little less clear-cut – mainly because, well, we've never seen a mountain with lips, eyes and a nose.
We can't help but suspect it was always meant to depict a sleeping person, but the bizarre colour scheme and abstract composition mean that at a glance, people are seeing something else entirely. Stick a star or moon in that red space and then we'll believe that it's meant to be the sky – but until then, nah. (Unless, of course, we're wrong. It can happen).
Daniel John is Design Editor at Creative Bloq. He reports on the worlds of design, branding and lifestyle tech, and has covered several industry events including Milan Design Week, OFFF Barcelona and Adobe Max in Los Angeles.
