Short answer
What the Chevrolet logo symbol means
The Chevy bowtie is a plain geometric cross shape that has marked Chevrolet cars since 1913. Its origin is not documented. General Motors' own 1961 anniversary history said co-founder William C. Durant sketched it from wallpaper in a French hotel around 1908, his widow later said it came from a newspaper ad for a coal product called Coalettes, and a third account credits Louis Chevrolet with a stylized Swiss cross. The stories conflict, and Chevrolet has not settled on one.
Quick read
Chevrolet logo at a glance
- Symbol
- The bowtie, a horizontal bar crossed by a shorter block
- First used
- 1913 in advertising, 1914 on production cars
- Usually credited
- William C. Durant, who chose the final shape
- Competing origin stories
- French hotel wallpaper, Coalettes ad, Swiss cross
- Textless bowtie
- First used in 1985
- Gold bowtie
- Standard badge from the early 2000s
Interactive logo decoder
The Chevrolet Bowtie
The bowtie shape
A long horizontal bar is crossed by a shorter, taller block in the middle, with the outer ends cut at an angle. The shape has carried the Chevrolet name since 1913.
Highlighted on the logoThe gold field
The inside of the bowtie is filled with a gold, finely textured surface. Gold bowties replaced blue and red ones on Chevrolet badges in the early 2000s.
Highlighted on the logoThe chrome frame
A beveled chrome border wraps the gold, so the logo reads like a physical grille emblem. The bevel is strongest where the center block rises above the bar.
Highlighted on the logoThe wordmark
CHEVROLET is set in wide, dark gray capitals below the bowtie. Since 1985 the bowtie has also been used on its own, without any lettering inside it.
Highlighted on the logo
Was the Chevy bowtie inspired by hotel wallpaper?
Chevrolet's own 50th-anniversary history, published in 1961, said William C. Durant sketched the design from a wallpaper pattern he noticed in a French hotel around 1908. Durant founded General Motors, lost control of it, and started Chevrolet in 1911 with the Chevrolet brothers. He is generally credited with selecting the final shape for the car, rather than a hired designer or agency, and that part is not disputed.
What is disputed is the wallpaper. It comes from a company anniversary book, and the later versions of the story contradict it.
Was the Chevy bowtie taken from a coal newspaper ad?
In a 1968 interview, Durant's widow gave a different account. She said he based the shape on a newspaper advertisement for Coalettes, a coal-fuel product. Automotive historians have since found a period ad with a similar slanted-bowtie shape, which gives this version some physical evidence.
Finding a similar ad does not prove Durant saw it, so even this story rests on one recollection and a matching picture. Kelley Blue Book summarized the situation on the badge's 100th birthday by calling its origin still uncertain.
Is the Chevy bowtie a Swiss cross?
A separately sourced account credits co-founder Louis Chevrolet with choosing a stylized Swiss cross to honor his family's homeland. He was a Swiss-born racing driver and mechanic. The idea is appealing, but Louis Chevrolet left the company within a few years and had no lasting role in later logo decisions, and the sources used for this page do not back the story with a document.
All three versions cannot be true, and Chevrolet's own materials acknowledge the uncertainty. When you read a confident single answer about the bowtie, it is picking one of these stories.
Chevrolet logo history and how the bowtie changed
The first Chevrolet mark in 1911 was the name in a looping script, with no bowtie. The bowtie shape was registered and used in advertising in 1913 with CHEVROLET across the center in black and silver, and it appeared on production cars the following year, on the H-2 Royal Mail and H-4 Baby Grand. The archive's 1914 file shows a pale blue field filling the shape.
Color kept changing. A blue bowtie with a yellow outline appears in 1940, and a red oval version appears in 1950. The first bowtie with no lettering came in 1985, and a blue outlined empty bowtie paired with a red wordmark appears in the 1988 file. A solid gold bowtie became the standard badge in 2002, gained a beveled chrome frame in 2010 and carries a wide gray wordmark since 2013.
Logo archive
Chevrolet logo versions through the years
1913 The bowtie arrives 
1914 Blue inside the bowtie 
1940 Blue with a yellow edge 
1988 An empty bowtie 
2002 Gold - 2013 Today's badge
Frequently asked questions
Chevrolet logo symbol questions answered
What is the Chevy bowtie?
A geometric cross shape with squared-off ends, used on Chevrolet cars since 1913. It carries no company name and no obvious picture.
Where did the Chevrolet bowtie come from?
It is not documented. GM's 1961 history credited Durant's sketch of French hotel wallpaper, his widow cited a newspaper ad for Coalettes, and another account credits Louis Chevrolet with a Swiss cross. Chevrolet has not settled on one.
Who designed the Chevrolet logo?
William C. Durant is generally credited with choosing the shape. No hired designer or agency is documented.
Is the Chevy bowtie a Swiss cross?
That is one of three competing stories, credited to Louis Chevrolet's heritage. It is not confirmed by the sources used for this page.
When did the Chevrolet bowtie first appear?
In advertising in 1913, and on production cars in 1914, the H-2 Royal Mail and H-4 Baby Grand.
Keep reading
More logo meanings
References
Sources for the Chevrolet logo story
- Wikipedia — Chevrolet
- Wikipedia — William C. Durant
- Wikipedia — Louis Chevrolet
- Kelley Blue Book — Chevrolet Bowtie Badge Turns 100, But Its Origin Is Still Uncertain
- This Day In Automotive History — Chevrolet Is Founded
Chevrolet logo and history. Logo images are an educational reference archive.