7 ms·

FedEx Influenced the React Logo

1 points by pcr910303 4y ago

webmaven 4y ago
Identifying a cog (really a nut) in the React logo is almost as banal as saying that there is a hexagon "hidden" in the Star of David. It kind of pops out naturally whenever you intersect three pairs of parallel-ish lines, or two equilateral triangles. Equating this with the negative space arrow in the FedEx logo is a stretch. Here is a logo that manages to hide a negative space lightning bolt inside the name "zzap", which is a closer analogy to the FedEx logo: https://dribbble.com/shots/6141892-zzap https://dribbble.com/shots/6141892-zzap
- jfengel 4y ago
  It's clever, though the bolt feels kinda chunky. I wonder if it would work to stretch everything vertically a bit.
  - webmaven 4y ago
    It would. That's beside the point though. The React logo is an abstract shape hidden in the negative space of another abstract shape. The Internet is full of negative space logos of this sort, some more clever than others (React's ranks on the less clever end of the scale). The FedEx arrow is an abstract symbol hidden in a wordmark, of which you can also find a lot of examples, most of which are created by compromising the wordmark's shapes, which the FedEx logo doesn't stoop to. The zzap logo also manages without this, though as you note, it could be improved further. The point is that the React and FedEx logos are in different categories (despite having the "negative space" aspect in common), not just different levels of difficulty.
jonathanlydall 4y ago
I think they give too much credence to the "once you see it, you can't unsee it" arrow in the FedEx logo. I only became aware of the arrow after it was pointed out to me sometime in the last 10 years and reading this article reminded me of the existence of the arrow, meaning I had kind of forgotten about it. I even quickly did an image search for the logo to look at it again and had the same feeling of "Oh, now that I am reminded to look for it, there it is, I suppose.". I don't see my general impression of the React logo changing either even after this article. I expect that I'll soon forget the nut is there until it is pointed out to me again, at which point I'll say "Oh, now that you mention it, I remember reading some article a while back saying they did that on purpose.". Perhaps this "clever" graphic design excites graphic designers, but the effect on the general public might not be as much as they think.

1 points by pcr910303 4y ago

Identifying a cog (really a nut) in the React logo is almost as banal as saying that there is a hexagon "hidden" in the Star of David. It kind of pops out naturally whenever you intersect three pairs of parallel-ish lines, or two equilateral triangles. Equating this with the negative space arrow in the FedEx logo is a stretch. Here is a logo that manages to hide a negative space lightning bolt inside the name "zzap", which is a closer analogy to the FedEx logo: https://dribbble.com/shots/6141892-zzap https://dribbble.com/shots/6141892-zzap

jfengel 4y ago
It's clever, though the bolt feels kinda chunky. I wonder if it would work to stretch everything vertically a bit.
- webmaven 4y ago
  It would. That's beside the point though. The React logo is an abstract shape hidden in the negative space of another abstract shape. The Internet is full of negative space logos of this sort, some more clever than others (React's ranks on the less clever end of the scale). The FedEx arrow is an abstract symbol hidden in a wordmark, of which you can also find a lot of examples, most of which are created by compromising the wordmark's shapes, which the FedEx logo doesn't stoop to. The zzap logo also manages without this, though as you note, it could be improved further. The point is that the React and FedEx logos are in different categories (despite having the "negative space" aspect in common), not just different levels of difficulty.

jonathanlydall 4y ago

I think they give too much credence to the "once you see it, you can't unsee it" arrow in the FedEx logo. I only became aware of the arrow after it was pointed out to me sometime in the last 10 years and reading this article reminded me of the existence of the arrow, meaning I had kind of forgotten about it. I even quickly did an image search for the logo to look at it again and had the same feeling of "Oh, now that I am reminded to look for it, there it is, I suppose.". I don't see my general impression of the React logo changing either even after this article. I expect that I'll soon forget the nut is there until it is pointed out to me again, at which point I'll say "Oh, now that you mention it, I remember reading some article a while back saying they did that on purpose.". Perhaps this "clever" graphic design excites graphic designers, but the effect on the general public might not be as much as they think.