Apple Logo Makes You Think Different!

(Ha! Made you think different!)

Hello All!

Just last night, Team SuperForest was discussing the Apple logo and how strong and active it is as a piece of iconography.

Then, this morning, this pops up on Slashdot:
"TimeZone writes "Apparently, even subliminal exposure to the Apple logo can make you 'think different.' Researchers at Duke University subjected participants to subliminal images of the iconic Apple and IBM logos (during what subjects thought was a visual acuity test), and those who were shown the Apple logo generated more creative ideas after the test than did those who were shown the IBM logo."

Cripes! That's interesting news.

In the offices where Team SF works, we are positively saturated with the Apple logo. It's everywhere. Here, I'll go take pictures...



Look at how many! At first I was taking pictures of each one, (with my iPhone) then I just counted. When I hit twenty, I stopped counting.

If even the most subliminal of glimpses is supposed to boost unconventional, creative thinking, then what about this carpet bombing?

We're thinking so different it hurts!

From the paper released today on physorg.com:

“Each of us is exposed to thousands of brand images every day, most of which are not related to paid advertising,” said Gavan Fitzsimons. “We assume that incidental brand exposures do not affect us, but our work demonstrates that even fleeting glimpses of logos can affect us quite dramatically.”

To assess the effects of brands on behavior, the researchers selected two competing brands, both well respected by consumers, with distinct and well-defined brand personalities. “Apple has worked for many years to develop a brand character associated with nonconformity, innovation and creativity,” said Chartrand, “and IBM is viewed by consumers as traditional, smart and responsible.”

The team conducted an experiment in which 341 university students completed what they believed was a visual acuity task, during which either the Apple or IBM logo was flashed so quickly that they were unaware they had been exposed to the brand logo. The participants then completed a task designed to evaluate how creative they were, listing all of the uses for a brick that they could imagine beyond building a wall.

People who were exposed to the Apple logo generated significantly more unusual uses for the brick compared with those who were primed with the IBM logo, the researchers said. In addition, the unusual uses the Apple-primed participants generated were rated as more creative by independent judges."


I've got a confession to make: I don't work for Apple, but I happily would. I've had Apple computers in my life since I was three, and I was born in '78. Luckily, my father has always been an enthusiastic and early adopter of Apple and all Apple-related tech. So the Apple logo is as much a part of my upbringing as Reading Rainbow, OP shorts, and the D.A.R.E. program.

For people being born right now, Apple will be even greater than a nostalgic touchstone, it will be ubiquity personified.

I'm an unabashed Apple fanatic.
I want my car to be Apple. My clothes to be Apple. My house to be Apple.

If my car, house, and clothes are as well designed, inviting and tactile as my iPhone, or my laptop, then that's what I want.

Surround yourself with the stimuli of creativity, and creative you will be.

Here's the original article from physorg.com

If this post interests you, check out this one from last November: Apple Me (From Birth)



Have an excellent Wednesday,

Team SF