Creativity is thinking up new things...
The Challenge
From Nike's swoosh to Apple's apple, from the golden arches of McDonald's to the three-pointed star of Mercedes Benz, logos are a crucial part of the corporate landscape. But often under-appreciated is how much thought goes into the logo's design - how much brand-driven symbolism can be packed into a single, corporation-defining image. You and your team of three will unlock the secrets of some of the world's most prominent company logos, a test that will challenge your 21st-century student's appreciation of commercialism, marketing and advertising,
From Nike's swoosh to Apple's apple, from the golden arches of McDonald's to the three-pointed star of Mercedes Benz, logos are a crucial part of the corporate landscape. But often under-appreciated is how much thought goes into the logo's design - how much brand-driven symbolism can be packed into a single, corporation-defining image. You and your team of three will unlock the secrets of some of the world's most prominent company logos, a test that will challenge your 21st-century student's appreciation of commercialism, marketing and advertising,
Skills Takeaway
In synthesising an awareness of the company and the products they offer, with students' own emotional and analytical response, this Innovation Challenge hinges around the core skill of creativity and interpretation: an open mind will be rewarded!
Further skills applicable to the wider world are:
1. Observational skills: sharp application of literal and metaphoric vision
2. Lateral thought
3. Teamwork and listening skills
4. Intellectual resilience: you may well not be able to "see" the logo, or its symbolic meaning - patience, self-monitoring skills, the ability to try alternative strategies and the flexibility to look at a problem from a different perspective are all crucial here.
Reflection
As always, after each challenge, students are invited to submit a reflection on their method and procedures relating to the challenge and their learning outcomes. Winning is not the purpose of the Innovation Challenges: learning is. Reflecting on the aspects of the experience will give you the chance to realise that every experience, every success and failure, offers a chance to learn, improve and develop. The best reflection receives an award, and will be posted beneath each challenge.
As always, after each challenge, students are invited to submit a reflection on their method and procedures relating to the challenge and their learning outcomes. Winning is not the purpose of the Innovation Challenges: learning is. Reflecting on the aspects of the experience will give you the chance to realise that every experience, every success and failure, offers a chance to learn, improve and develop. The best reflection receives an award, and will be posted beneath each challenge.
Winning Student Reflection - Jacob Sowter
When we see logos, we are hit with an advert communicating some aspect(s) of the firm who owns that symbol. How do we know it is advertising, not just a fancy drawing? We know because we can see how much firms pay for them:
Accenture logo price tag: $100,000,000.
British Petrol (BP) logo price tag: $211,000,000.
However, we often just take logos for granted, and by extension, much of the world around us (I am reminded of Qasim Alli's Platform where he questioned 'givens' such as democracy being the best form of government). Back to logos, subconsciously firms plant ideas into our heads about their objectives. This can be hugely problematic; BP's logo looks like a green sun. Going all ‘PEEE’ on this reveals that this emblem manipulates us: the green gives ecological and environmental connotations and the sun creates a sense of natural warmth. Could this be any more at odds with the fact that BP's whole raison d'être is to make money by mining oil out of the ground, thereby destroying the environment? Search 'Deepwater Horizon Bird' in Google Images to see what I mean. Now search for 'BP Logo' - can anyone seriously claim that those two images are in anyway aligned? Yet, if we just accept BP’s iconography we make justifications and excuses in our head for the damage that BP do.
This exterior-examination of the world around us is not just interesting but it is fundamentally important. This is why it is important to examine logos.
Moreover, in doing so we can also gain valuable skills simultaneously. Some criticise schooling as restrictive places where we are taught facts and figures with a dearth of creative thinking. This challenge reinforced the idea presented in 'The Puzzle Race’ whereby we appreciated new and innovative thinking. This is vital for the job market of tomorrow. We are going through the so-called ‘Information Age’: computers and machines are taking many jobs which humans formerly had as companies switch to 'capital-intensive' (machine driven) production. This is seen in the increasing number of self-service check-outs, for example, or when we see videos of automated car-manufacturing warehouses on the news. Simply, the jobs of today may not be around tomorrow so lateral thinking is an essential skill which education fails to provide. It is essential because creative, individual thoughts are the biggest differences between you and the computer you are sat in front of.
Moreover, this challenge reinforced to us that others have different abilities and different skills. For instance, I completely missed the arrow of the FedEx despite it being (now) immediately obvious when you look at it. We cannot assume to know everything or that our ideas are better than other people's as this would be based on some incorrect presumption of yourself. That example really drove home to me the value of teamwork because undoubtedly I detected logos’ messages which others did not detect and so by working together, there is a far greater pool of talent and strengths from which to draw from.
Finally, I'd recommend the podcast 99% invisible to anyone who was interested and captivated by this challenge; "99% Invisible is a tiny radio show about design, architecture & the 99% invisible activity that shapes our world". And yes, there are episodes on logos.