Subliminal Symbology
Wednesday, March 12th, 2008, by Daniel V.
I’m just outside a well-lit conference room. It takes a little while to jostle through the crowd, but eventually Karen, my girlfriend, and I end up with a nice little plate of appy’s before heading in. We make our way into the large conference room and spot a table with chairs sporting a good enough view to the front. The seating is extremely tight, so Karen helps me settle my long legs in, and we nibble on our plate of munchies, chatting while we wait for things to start.
After a glowing introduction, a professor of physics (our guest speaker) makes it to the microphone. He’s an older fella, maybe late fifties or so. As he speaks, it becomes quickly obvious that he’s full of energy and passion for physics and mathematics. This is why I’m here; this gentleman is renowned for making academia fun and interesting.
To my surprise, he starts the lecture talking about symbols, requesting his audience to “Put up your hand if you have NEVER seen the FedEx logo.”
Since there are no recent arrivals from the planet Likknor in the audience, no hands went up. Everyone knows the FedEx logo. “OK. Good,” he says, “Now put your hand up if you think the FedEx logo has an arrow in it.”
Again, no hands go up, and I think I’m thinking what everyone else is thinking: There is no arrow in the FedEx logo; it’s all just letters. Regardless, he had me at “…FedEx logo has an arrow in it.” I knew I was going to enjoy the evening.
The professor chuckles and clicks his little slide-projector-remote-thingamajig, and the FedEx logo comes up on the overhead for all to see. “Now put up your hand if you think the FedEx logo has an arrow in it,” he repeats. The volume in the room rises slightly with murmurs of people discussing whether there indeed is an arrow in the FedEx logo or if the fella is a couple clowns short of a circus.
Then I see it. Sure enough, an arrow in the FedEx logo.
Being in the business, I love this kind of stuff, and even more so when it’s something mainstream and in our faces day in and day out. Not surprisingly, the hidden FedEx arrow was no fluke. Although it may look like a natural occurrence, the typeface was tweaked in order to incorporate the arrow into the design as a symbol of “speed and precision.”
So, beyond the billions in advertising, the thousands of trucks and the millions of packages that are branded FedEx, the company sports a logo that enforces their brand every time people ask “Have you seen the arrow in the FedEx logo?” And every time their company name is spoken, it stays fresh in our minds, ready to recall when we need to send a package.
I’m sure this will be news to some, old news to others and brilliant either way.
