THE SYMBOLIC MEANING OF THE DRAGON

Dragons are mythological creatures that are found historically in many cultures throughout the world. During the medieval period in the West dragons were considered a beast to be destroyed and often represented the wildness of nature – needing to be tamed. Whilst in the East the dragon was a seen as a beneficial supernatural power.

Dragons have dated as far back as Babylonian times where in early records a scaly beast named Tiamat is found, who often had the body of a serpent and came from the sea.

The dragon can represent the power source behind the cycles of nature, fertility as well as the destruction of all things. The dragon will generally reside in the Underworld and is symbolic of the Unconscious (and chaos).

In medieval lore, dragons would be conquered by a hero who would overcome this darkness of the Underworld.

Here is an example of a logo with a dragon symbol (a medieval hero – St George).

St George Bank – Financial Services

Interestingly enough during the time of this logo the Apple Computers brand did not achieve high sales levels. It is typical of an entrpreneurial start-up to venture out with a ‘lone ranger’ identity such as this theme. The desire for individualism and unique expression that is innate within every entrepreneur can often cause an isolated effect that is not profitable. As Marty Neumeier, author of the Brand Gap, said, ‘It takes a village to build a brand’.

The rebrand of the logo to the simplistic form of the multi-coloured apple with a bite out of it was a big step. ‘Byte into an Apple’ was the tagline that followed the ‘Rainbow Apple’. The symbol was based on the ‘forbidden fruit’ of the tree of knowledge (the Eden story in the bible). There is an element of ‘rebellion’ that runs through the veins of this brand, this symbolism taps into the archetypal rebellion in the eden story, when Adam & Eve were banned from Paradise.

The rebellious nature of the Apple brand gave it a strong opposing position in the category of computer technology, which in the 70′s comprised of generic brand names and product offerings. Even to the more recent campaigns of the PC vs Mac ads the theme of ‘this is what we are not’ is present in their communication. The very lifeline of this brand ran on creative individualism. Coupled with the Unique Selling Point of ‘Innovative Design’ this has led Apple to create a brand loyalty that has some mac users be seen as ‘fanatical’. In fact, members of this ‘brand tribe’ have gone so far as tattooing the symbol on their body.

The famous ‘Think Different’ campaign from 1997 that revitalised a lagging Apple brand. The ‘creative individual’ theme of this campaign draws on the essence of the Apple brand, rebellious at the core.

The original 1984 apple mac ad.

In 1949, Walter Hunt (1796 – 1859) invented the safety pin.

Like most ideas that become a household item it wasn’t a new idea, pins to hold clothing together dated back to the Mycenean age as a toga accessory. Walter however was in debt $15 at the time and was desperate for a bit of cash. Sitting down with a piece of 8 inch wire he twisted and bent it until he created a practical & useful tool. The product benefit of the pin was that it would not prick you once fastened… hence safety pin.

Possibly not realising the product life span of his invention he sold his patent for $400 (to clear his debt) and the rights to his safety pin became a tidy income producing business for someone else.

He also invented the first sewing machine… but did not wish to see thousands of people lose their jobs and decided not to go through with it.

Walter Hunt was an inventor not a marketer.

THE SYMBOLIC MEANING OF THE EYE

This symbol is very rich in meaning and history. One small blog entry can never do it justice.

At the core, depending on the angle of view the eye is seen positively as the mystic eye, full of light, enlightenment, insight & illumination such as the Eye of God; or negatively as the Evil Eye full of jealousy, darkness & rage such as the destructive eye of Cyclops.

Some of the key themes of the Eye are:

• omiscience
• the All Seeing Divinity
• knowledge
• wisdom
• full view
• strength & power via intellect

The eye is often interpreted as logical knowledge whilst the third eye as that of inner seeing, intuition & spirituality. Sometimes the left & right eye in different cultures & mythological history has been divided into solar & lunar as well.

The symbol of the eye can trace back to Ancient Egypt to the Sun God Ra and has a lineage via the middle east & europe to the modern world.

See the eye symbol here on the Great Seal of the US American dollar as the Eye of Providence (representing the Eye of God overlooking the 13 states):

In this image we see the symbol of the eye used in Architecture, in the eye of the Pantheon Dome in Rome, suggesting some of the key themes of the eye around light and illumination:

Below are three commercial logos using the symbolism of the Eye…
1 Birds Eye logo – (An eye for good food) frozen vegetables and how could we forget the fish finger
2 No Fear logo – Motorcross & Surf fashion
3 CBS News logo – US news channel

Nike cleverly uses the inspiration of a hero to motivate their fan base which using a ethos like this will leverage their ‘Just do it’ concept.

Just like sports heroes, facing the fear of failure is the only way forward for the Creative Entrepreneur. It is a matter of the perception of success.

It never ceases to interest me that when I am working with someone on their vision for the future and we begin to play with their symbolism and imagery, I will inevitably hear stories about Paradise Lost.

At essence we are all Paradise Seekers.

Every day we wake up with an inner desire to uncover the hidden Paradise in our lives. The desire may be below the surface so far that you would have to really scratch down to find it, but it is there, driving your everyday decisions – from what dress to wear, to who to go into business with, to what school your kids should go to. And it will never go away. Paradise Seeking is the human experience.

Throughout history there have been Paradise Seekers of many kinds. The search for the Holy Grail. Eldorado – The lost City of Gold. The Mysteries of Atlantis. Utopia. Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Blue Lagoon, The Da Vinci Code. All these long lost myths and modern commerical stories woven into the fabric of our culture containing the golden threads of Paradise Seeking.

So what are some of the stories of this lost paradise I hear about so often?

+ a neverending pot of gold
+ Mr Darcy
+ secret gardens & exotic islands far, far away
+ the Brady Bunch
+ And they all lived happily ever after

This Perfect Paradise. Its not real. It lives in our imagination, our ideals and our dreams. It is what Milton called Paradise Lost.

I’m interested in how those images are used in advertising and the media. That imaginary seductive world that taps into our very personal relationship with our Lost Paradise.

Like I said, its not real… but actually… it’s very, very real.