The Mighty Chevron
filed in Design: Graphic Design, Nonsensical Ramblings on Nov.21, 2007
There are typically two human responses that I display when I, as an adult and as a professional, learn something new.
Either, I feel happy that I’ve gained this new knowledge and are therefore smarter than I was before… or I just feel stupid for having not already known what I just learned. Most recently, it was the latter.
I learned the word: CHEVRON
Growing up, I knew exactly what a “chevron” was. It was an oil company who had a gas station (Chevron Corporation) just off the Ledgewood Circle (which, sadly, no longer exists) on Route 46 in New Jersey.
But alas, a “chevron” is actually the name of a shape, akin to the more popular shape names like triangle, square and miss popular, circle.
It’s basically the letter V, pointed either up or down. Wikipedia has a nice page dedicated to the chevron. I would think most military personnel (past or present) are laughing at me right now, because those “stripes” that you get when your rank goes up are actually called chevrons. My dad should know this word too, as he had several chevrons on his sleeve as a Sargent in the US Army.
How have I never come across this word, in regards to shape names and graphic symbols before now?? Where was this hole in my visual education and what else may have fallen into it??
This also leads me into a tangent of thinking about what other companies, besides Chevron Corporation, are oddly named after the shape of their logo? A post for another time, I’m sure…
November 21st, 2007 on 4:06 pm
My father, your grandfather, used to say that we can learn something new every day. I’ve always been pleased with his thought each day that I was open to learning something new and then did.
Today was one of your days to learn something new. Look forward to tomorrow with anticipation.
Dad
November 21st, 2007 on 5:24 pm
no really, i had no idea.
November 27th, 2007 on 12:44 pm
I recently learned this same lesson! Where did you hear this? I can’t remember where I did. Right as I started reading your post I thought the same thing. Their company is named after the shape in their logo! Must be design logic b/c that’s the first thing I thought. I’ve seen “Cornerstone” used as a company name and logo.