We've seen plenty of logos with hidden messages over the years, from Amazon's secret 'smile' to the famous FedEx arrow. But it's not often we encounter a logo with not one, not two but, er, eight (or possibly more?) images inside it. Thanks to its bounty of visual easter eggs, the logo for pirate-themed video game Sea of Thieves has seriously impressed the internet – again. The game was released in 2018, but the logo is once again doing the rounds on Reddit.
It's a skull. But there's also a boat. And a rock. And clouds And an eyepatch. And a crew. Birds, too. Oh, and there's a shark. Unless there's anything else we haven't spotted yet (which is entirely possible), that's every element that combines to create the incredible, multi-faceted design (below). Many of the best logos are cleverer than they look, but this one's a real treasure.
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Reddit users have heaped praise on this treasure of a design. "I’ve always loved this logo. Honestly genius," one says, while another adds, "I've somehow never looked at it long enough to notice all those details. It's actually really clever". Many have also shared an even more richly illustrated version (below) from the game's loading screen, which still manages to look like a skull.
The game's loading screen (Image credit: Rare)
We're big fans of the design, which manages to blend an incredible amount of relevant imagery into a coherent whole. The clouds/ship/eyepatch combo is a particularly inspired touch, with all three elements working both separately and together.
If you're looking for more examples of genius hidden messages in logos, this infographic is on hand to reveal 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. If you're looking to create an ingenious design of your own, our logo design guide has you covered.
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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.
