The internet loves a visual mind-boggler – who can forget 2015's "The dress", which was either gold or blue depending on, well, whichever you could see. It seems the latest you-either-see-it-or-you-don't has arrived courtesy of a Wales-based sports website.
Play Away, Stay Away calls itself "the first fan-to-fan host community for sports supporters," designed to bring football and rugby fans together. But rather than bringing people together, its new logo is causing a few divisions online. There's an 'S' hidden between the two A's – but not everyone can see it straight away. (If you're looking for logo inspiration, check out our roundup of the best logos of all time).
Spot the 'S' (Image credit: Play Away, Stay Away)
Louis Bollard from Play Away, Stay Way told North Wales Live that the logo, created by freelance designer James Ellison, has caused "rows and frustration" (blimey). "It’s had thousands of interactions on Facebook alone," he said, "and is similar to the black/blue and gold/white dress of a couple of years ago, some people see it, some people don’t."
Admittedly, the 'S' didn't jump out at us straight away – but once you see it, you can't unsee it (and if you need help spotting it, we've made a handy guide below). "Don't know why I didn't see it sooner!" one Facebook user comments, while another adds "It's in the arrows, ain't it?" One person who struggled to spot the 'S' was Bollard's mother. "She was getting very frustrated," he says, "Then a month later she phones at 10.30pm to tell me she had finally seen it!"
In case you needed help... (Image credit: Play Away, Stay Away/Future Owns)
With its arrow-based design, the logo reminds us of the famous FedEx logo, which features a hidden forward-pointing arrow between the 'e' and 'x'. If you're looking for more genius hidden messages in logos, this infographic reveals a whopping 50 of them, from Amazon's 'arrow smile' (did you know it also points from A-Z?) to the Toyota logo containing every letter of the name. And if you're looking to create an ingenious concept of your own, our logo design guide has you covered.
Daniel John is Senior News Editor at Creative Bloq. He reports on the worlds of art, design, branding and lifestyle tech (which often translates to tech made by Apple). He joined in 2020 after working in copywriting and digital marketing with brands including ITV, NBC, Channel 4 and more.
