Thursday, January 6, 2011

Popular Logos with Hidden Symbolisms


Some logos are very creative and have subtle symbols and messages that represents something about the company it stands for. We explore a handful of such logos in this collection.





Big 10




The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division 1 college athletic conference. Since Penn State joined in 1990, there have been 11 schools in the Big Ten. They revamped their logo by placing a hidden number 11 on either sides of the letter T to stand for the actual number of schools in the division.






Goodwill




Goodwill is a nonprofit organization that helps disadvantaged people in North America. The letter G in the logo is a smiling face, conveying the notion that Goodwill provides happiness and relief to those in need.




Sun Microsystems




If you look at the diamond icon on the left of the company's name, you will see that it spells out Sun starting from any corner. It is a wonderful example of symmetry.






Amazon



This logo has been around for over a decade, but many people do not know that there's a hidden symbolism in Amazon's logo. The arrow from A to Z represents that the website sells everything from A to Z, and doubles as a "smile" to suggest satisfied customers.





Toblerone



In the company's logo, you will see a bear hidden in the mountain. The bear is the symbol of the city of Berne in Switzerland where Toblerone is produced.






Baskin Robbins






At first glance, this logo looks simply like the initials for Baskin Robins but if you take a second look, you will see the number 31 in the acronym (highlighted in a pink color). This stems from the idea that Baskin Robbins sells 31 types of ice cream, one for each day of the month.








FedEx




The hidden rightward-pointing arrow in the negative space between the letter E and X conveys the speed and precision of the company's delivery service.






Hope for African Children Initiative




At first glance, this logo looks like a map of Africa, but if you take a closer look, you will see two people facing each other.






Milwaukee Brewers




The old Milwaukee Brewers logo uses the team's initials (B and M) to form a catcher's glove holding a ball.






Northwest Airlines


The old Northwest Airlines logo has a very clever icon. Not only does the icon on the left of the text spell out N and W, but the arrow and circle symbolizes a compass pointing in the northwestern direction.

Fast Shoelace Knot





Step 1:




Tie a Left-over-Right Starting Knot as shown, then hold the laces as pictured. The right (blue) lace is held between the right thumb and forefinger whilst the left (yellow) lace is held around the left thumb and forefinger, using the other fingers of the left hand to hold the lace taut.


Step 2:





This move creates two loops, one with the loose end behind, the other with the loose end in front. Use the middle finger of the right hand to push the loose end of the right lace behind, whilst the left hand simply rotates forwards to swing its loop across to the right.







Step 3:







This next move crosses the two loops over each other. Use the left thumb to push its loose end over to the right, whilst the right middle finger continues to push its loose end all the way between the left thumb and forefinger to end up inside the left loop.



Note that the diagram at left shows somewhat exaggerated crossed loops. They are really more "alongside" each other, which is difficult to illustrate.




Step 4:








This tricky move requires each hand to use the two fingers inside its own loop to grab the loose end of the other hand's loop. Use the left thumb and forefinger to grab the loose right end, then the right thumb and middle finger can grab the loose left end.




Step 5:






This move sees each hand releasing its own loop and pulling the loose end of the opposite loop through its own. Take care not to pull the ends all the way through, as this will form a "knot" instead of a "bow". In fact, this is a quick way to tie a starting knot (though the finger movements must be reversed left to right )









Step 6:






This final step simply completes the knot by pulling the loops tight