5 ms·

I had noticed neither that the arrow in Amazon's logo points from A to Z nor that the arrow resembles a smile. My guess is that the only competitive advantage

by shasta 12y ago

I had noticed neither that the arrow in Amazon's logo points from A to Z nor that the arrow resembles a smile. My guess is that the only competitive advantage resulting from such design flourishes is the free press you get from designers discussing your logo.

dag11 12y ago
While I never noticed it pointing A->Z, I did always recognize it as a smile. I guess it depends on your perspective.
- arkonaut 12y ago
  Don't know how you'd quantify this, but I imagine people have a subliminal response to the smile whether they know they see it or not. Like pleasant chord construction in music. I've also heard it's the reason watches in magazines are always set to a time around 10:10 or 2:50 to make it seem like a smiling face.
  - deleted 12y ago
    [deleted]
  - jeorgun 12y ago
    I'd never consciously noticed the smile before, but now that I do I find it frankly unsettling (something like http://img1.ak.crunchyroll.com/i/spire1/b1bd605b2f1f69275d4f367762d7af2d1379115050_large.jpg http://img1.ak.crunchyroll.com/i/spire1/b1bd605b2f1f69275d4f... ). I wonder if the subconscious mind is less discerning when it comes to smiles, or if I'm just reading it weirdly?
cschmidt 12y ago
Have you ever noticed the arrow in the FedEx logo? I'm always surprised how few people have "seen" it. Go look now: https://www.google.com/#q=fedex+logo https://www.google.com/#q=fedex+logo if you don't know what I'm talking about
- Deinos 12y ago
  Can't believe I never caught that until now... and now I can't "unsee" it. Impressive.
- yitchelle 12y ago
  Whoa, that is so well done that it is almost subliminal.
  - mathattack 12y ago
    Wow. I wonder if there is any subliminal power to the FedEx and Amazon arrows. Shouldn't be too hard to AB test, which makes me think it was deliberate.
    - kefs 12y ago
      Here's a good write-up on the Fedex logo.. http://www.fastcodesign.com/1671067/the-story-behind-the-famous-fedex-logo-and-why-it-works http://www.fastcodesign.com/1671067/the-story-behind-the-fam...
      - mathattack 12y ago
        Very interesting. Thank you for sharing! They're a very early adopter of technology enabled supply chain integration, so it's interesting to see where else they are on the leading edge.
- Swizec 12y ago
  No matter how many times people show me that arrow, I just cannot see it. Maybe I'm a visual idiot.
  - subdane 12y ago
    Helps? http://toneiusmaximus.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/090113-fedex-express-arrow4.png http://toneiusmaximus.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/090113-fed...
StefanKarpinski 12y ago
Completely agree that the Amazon logo is a pretty questionable example of a "great logo" and the story doesn't really improve it. I'm increasingly often thinking that the Twitter logo is genius. That little bird is so recognizable – and endearing!
devindotcom 12y ago
Because you didn't notice it, it must not have any effect? Isn't that like saying because you don't notice a site or city's layout, it has no effect? Or that because you didn't notice the addition of cumin to a dish, it had no effect?
- cms07 12y ago
  A logo is nothing like a city layout.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
- mehwoot 12y ago
  That's a silly analogy. The effect of a logo is the impression on people. The layout of a city has concrete effects that people will notice regardless of whether they are aware of the layout itself or not. It's questionable whether an arrow in your logo that nobody notices will have any effect apart from designers talking about your logo.
joshchan 12y ago
I also never noticed the arrow in the Amazon logo went from A to Z, bu I wonder if it had a subconscious effect... (Same with the FedEx arrow before I noticed it)
baddox 12y ago
I didn't notice the arrow in Amazon's logo points from A to Z, but that's because it's pointing from A to O.
- anigbrowl 12y ago
  Shouldn't downvote someone for pointing out a fact - it does point to O. I've messed about with it in Photoshop to make it point more at the Z but it ended up looking visually unbalancedso I guess there's some designer's license at work here.
- CmonDev 12y ago
  I guess the logo designer failed to solve this issue.
- dagw 12y ago
  Alpha->Omega then
Zotabite 12y ago
A to Z comes up quite a bit with Amazon. The claim is that "Amazon's selection goes from A to Z". Amazon has a development center named A2Z. There's also Lab126... Lab 1-26... Lab 'A'-'Z'.
ohwp 12y ago
The e's in the Heineken logo are rotated a little to represent a 'smile'. Not a lot of people will see this but the logo gets a 'softer' feeling because of it so people will somehow notice it.
Eric_WVGG 12y ago
It’s a lot like the difference between shitty code that is barely held together and happens to work, and really well written code that is beautiful from end to end. It’s sometimes invisible to the user, but these details are indicative of a software (or company or brand) that is intrinsically well-designed. (another example I’ve seen bandied about is shitty wood veneer vs well-crafted hardwood furniture)
fanf2 12y ago
The problem with the Amazon logo is the swooshy arrow is a massive cliche, and whether or not they have clever reasons for the design, the result looks like yet another unimaginitive cookie cutter text+swoosh emblem. http://web.archive.org/web/20020815054059/50cups.com/swoosh/ http://web.archive.org/web/20020815054059/50cups.com/swoosh/

by shasta 12y ago

dag11 12y ago

While I never noticed it pointing A->Z, I did always recognize it as a smile. I guess it depends on your perspective.

arkonaut 12y ago
Don't know how you'd quantify this, but I imagine people have a subliminal response to the smile whether they know they see it or not. Like pleasant chord construction in music. I've also heard it's the reason watches in magazines are always set to a time around 10:10 or 2:50 to make it seem like a smiling face.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
- jeorgun 12y ago
  I'd never consciously noticed the smile before, but now that I do I find it frankly unsettling (something like http://img1.ak.crunchyroll.com/i/spire1/b1bd605b2f1f69275d4f367762d7af2d1379115050_large.jpg http://img1.ak.crunchyroll.com/i/spire1/b1bd605b2f1f69275d4f... ). I wonder if the subconscious mind is less discerning when it comes to smiles, or if I'm just reading it weirdly?

cschmidt 12y ago

Have you ever noticed the arrow in the FedEx logo? I'm always surprised how few people have "seen" it. Go look now: https://www.google.com/#q=fedex+logo https://www.google.com/#q=fedex+logo if you don't know what I'm talking about

Deinos 12y ago
Can't believe I never caught that until now... and now I can't "unsee" it. Impressive.
yitchelle 12y ago
Whoa, that is so well done that it is almost subliminal.
- mathattack 12y ago
  Wow. I wonder if there is any subliminal power to the FedEx and Amazon arrows. Shouldn't be too hard to AB test, which makes me think it was deliberate.
  - kefs 12y ago
    Here's a good write-up on the Fedex logo.. http://www.fastcodesign.com/1671067/the-story-behind-the-famous-fedex-logo-and-why-it-works http://www.fastcodesign.com/1671067/the-story-behind-the-fam...
    - mathattack 12y ago
      Very interesting. Thank you for sharing! They're a very early adopter of technology enabled supply chain integration, so it's interesting to see where else they are on the leading edge.
Swizec 12y ago
No matter how many times people show me that arrow, I just cannot see it. Maybe I'm a visual idiot.
- subdane 12y ago
  Helps? http://toneiusmaximus.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/090113-fedex-express-arrow4.png http://toneiusmaximus.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/090113-fed...

StefanKarpinski 12y ago

Completely agree that the Amazon logo is a pretty questionable example of a "great logo" and the story doesn't really improve it. I'm increasingly often thinking that the Twitter logo is genius. That little bird is so recognizable – and endearing!

devindotcom 12y ago

Because you didn't notice it, it must not have any effect? Isn't that like saying because you don't notice a site or city's layout, it has no effect? Or that because you didn't notice the addition of cumin to a dish, it had no effect?

cms07 12y ago
A logo is nothing like a city layout.
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
mehwoot 12y ago
That's a silly analogy. The effect of a logo is the impression on people. The layout of a city has concrete effects that people will notice regardless of whether they are aware of the layout itself or not. It's questionable whether an arrow in your logo that nobody notices will have any effect apart from designers talking about your logo.

joshchan 12y ago

I also never noticed the arrow in the Amazon logo went from A to Z, bu I wonder if it had a subconscious effect... (Same with the FedEx arrow before I noticed it)

baddox 12y ago

I didn't notice the arrow in Amazon's logo points from A to Z, but that's because it's pointing from A to O.

anigbrowl 12y ago
Shouldn't downvote someone for pointing out a fact - it does point to O. I've messed about with it in Photoshop to make it point more at the Z but it ended up looking visually unbalancedso I guess there's some designer's license at work here.
CmonDev 12y ago
I guess the logo designer failed to solve this issue.
dagw 12y ago
Alpha->Omega then

Zotabite 12y ago

A to Z comes up quite a bit with Amazon. The claim is that "Amazon's selection goes from A to Z". Amazon has a development center named A2Z. There's also Lab126... Lab 1-26... Lab 'A'-'Z'.

ohwp 12y ago

The e's in the Heineken logo are rotated a little to represent a 'smile'. Not a lot of people will see this but the logo gets a 'softer' feeling because of it so people will somehow notice it.

Eric_WVGG 12y ago

It’s a lot like the difference between shitty code that is barely held together and happens to work, and really well written code that is beautiful from end to end. It’s sometimes invisible to the user, but these details are indicative of a software (or company or brand) that is intrinsically well-designed. (another example I’ve seen bandied about is shitty wood veneer vs well-crafted hardwood furniture)

fanf2 12y ago

The problem with the Amazon logo is the swooshy arrow is a massive cliche, and whether or not they have clever reasons for the design, the result looks like yet another unimaginitive cookie cutter text+swoosh emblem. http://web.archive.org/web/20020815054059/50cups.com/swoosh/ http://web.archive.org/web/20020815054059/50cups.com/swoosh/