Thursday 16 September 2010

iconoclasts or have a nice day

One of the oldest registered trademarks, aside from the canting found on coats-of-arms and municipal and national regalia, is the simple red triangle of Bass Ale.  While a geometric shape does not corner any exclusivity and does not exactly evoke a refreshing beer by association, I rather like the accessible logos that enforce a name or functionality, like the Shell of Royal Dutch Shell or the diamond shape on Collins Gem publishers.  There is apparently a premium to having an iconic symbol or even sensible name anymore, considering the names of showboat medications and finance and telecommunication companies that play on false Latin and superlative words. 
Over-reliance on symbols and metonymy also has its drawbacks and can easily slide into the non-sensical.  The German government, for instance, is currently debating a proposal to augment its religiously executed hygenic checks of commercial kitchens with a smiley face based rating system.  The details have not been entirely worked out, but like a Michelin Guide, restaurant doors will display a scoring of smiley faces based on their cleanliness and rather subjectively on the quality of their cuisine.  The schedule and content of health inspections will not be changed, but finding are distilled and projected for potential guests, in smiley form.  It's this extra level and potential for obfuscation that is crazy-making.  Documentation from inspections could be made public, in their undigested form, for the perusal of the morbidly curious.  Unsafe restaurants are not allowed to stay in operation, and the smileys do not make the inspectors' visits more rigourous.  Probably no diners want to peek in the kitchens of the favourite restaurants and would rather remain blissfully ignorant and not be made to guess at what criteria distinguishes 4 smileys from 3.5 smileys.