Pop Culture Logos & Icons (Including that I-Phone)

So far, the 21st Century has been visually stimulating with colorful logos and icons that immediately identify their respective companies and call our attention to just how present these products and services are in our daily lives. The logos are so familiar, in fact, that they are almost as familiar as a family photo sitting on our desk or hanging on our living room walls! I have chosen three logos I believe tell the story of our love for socializing, technology and fashion! The first logo is that of the social network Facebook. The Facebook logo is a rounded blue square box with a lower case f prominently displayed top to bottom on the right side of the box. The second logo is that of the famous rainbow-colored apple representing the technological giant Apple. And lastly, a solid red box with white print lettering and rainbow naming The North Face brand. These icons are certainly bright colorful and engaging to the viewer. They could easily be recognized from a distance or by a quick glance through a magazine.

I choose the Facebook and Apple icons because they are both a daily part of my life and I engage them nearly daily. Since my first posting of my blog asked the question “I-Phone…friend or foe?” I had to bring this technology back into discussion. That crazy I-phone does both. This weekend, I have read three Facebook postings (made from an I-Phone no less) letting us readers know that they were out enjoying a great dinner with someone special. Umm, excuse me…but if you are out to dinner with someone special, shouldn’t you be spending time focusing on him or her? Don’t get met wrong, I always respond back with an obligatory “yum” or “sounds great” and I love knowing what my family and friends are up to, but at what cost does this communication come? On page 307 of our text (Petracca, 2012) points out that Freud “knew full well that technical and scientific advances are not to be taken lightly” and that there is definitely a con to the pros that come with them. So although I love knowing that my niece and her husband are having a great dinner at Brio, they might be better served enjoying their time together and a break from that fabulous great-nephew of mine. For my nephew-in-law who travels extensively for work, I think those constant updates are a habit he has developed to keep himself busy while hanging out at airports and in hotels. It seems that in all of the communication of Facebook and I-Phones (pros), the one thing that could get lost is one-on-one communication (cons). Can we figure out the balance to keep the pros and minimize the cons? I sure hope so! Oh and by the way...I am posting this with my Mac computer!

I chose The North Face logo because I think it represents our (O.K.…maybe I mean my family’s) love of name brands. I think North Face is particularly funny because the product was developed to supply the need of warmth for those brave souls who were traversing that cold North Face and who have a true need for a warm jacket that could help maintain movement during activities in extreme cold weather. I have to be honest, neither my daughter nor myself have been rock climbing in Alaska lately. Wait…we’ve never been rock climbing or even been to Alaska for that matter. So why do we need to go to spend the extra money for The North Face? Well, we like the brand of course. If we can’t be outdoorsy rock climbing people, we can at least look like them! Whether it’s the North Face, Coach, or Toms, we love name brands! It seems to be even more fun, when you are the “discovering” end of newly discovered (or popularized) brands. In other words, you are one of the trendsetters who jump on the brand wagon early in the game! OMG – I think we’re addicted to brands!

I’d love to hear whether the Facebook and I-Phone logos bring familiar memories to you and if there is a particular brand that you love because it makes you look or feel ________ (fill in your own blank!) like The North Face wear makes me look rugged!