Wednesday, February 12, 2025

How Squid Game Symbols Dodged A Lawsuit

Graphic DesignHow Squid Game Symbols Dodged A Lawsuit


Mugunghwa Kkochi Piotsseumnida

Is it just us, or did you also read that line in the tone of the girl’s voice? Before we proceed, heads up.

Korean dramas have become a viewing staple for people around the globe. But a particular Korean tv series blew up Netflix back up in the subscription platforms. If you’ve been on your feed lately, you know the title of the drama.

It’s not Hometown Cha Cha, despite its success. But a drama that has a more gruesome take on reality and artistic sets: Squid Game.

But why are we featuring a tv series?

What is Squid Game?

Netflix’s Squid Game

The game is originally a childhood game for young Koreans. The goal was to reach home base while trying not to get pushed out by the defenders.

According to the director, Hwang Dong-hyuk, he chose to name the series Squid Game because it was the most aggressive and symbolic game that reflects competitive society today.

Since its release last September 17, it has become a worldwide phenomenon. But what’s the story of the tv series itself? We’ll try our best not to give out too many spoilers here. Sorry in advance.

Squid Game is about a selected few people who are in dire need of money due to debt. They can’t pay for it. Thus, they are brought in by a secret organization and told to play five games to win the grand prize.

However, there is a twist to the games. You lose, you die. It may be a familiar trope in the movie and tv series genre, but Squid Game’s presentation of the trope is quite powerful.

We’ll stop here since we might say more spoilers for you.

Now, let’s get into the symbols found in the tv series.

Dissection of Symbols

The shapes of Squid Game include a circle, a triangle, and a square. Spot these three symbols in the business cards handed out to each player, and the guards are wearing them.

But here’s the question we’ve all been waiting for, why are these shapes so familiar?

Take a look at Playstation’s buttons. They have the same design of circle, triangle, and square shapes. Squid Game doesn’t have the X.

Despite the omission of the X for Squid Game, their difference does not stop there. It lies in the reasons both parties have for using said symbols.

Sony’s PlayStation chose the symbols to be different from the rest of the game consoles. They chose icons that are easy to remember.

The triangle represented the viewpoint of a person, and they gave it the color green. The square represented documents or menus, and they gave it the color pink.

Lastly, the circle and X represented yes and no. The colors given to either were red and blue, respectively.

On the other hand, Squid Game chose the shapes of square, triangle, and rectangle because they represented Korean letters. The circle represents O, the triangle helps form the J, and the square represents the M.

OJM is the acronym slash initials of the Korean name of squid game, Ojingeo Geim. Aside from that, they represent a social hierarchy.

The circle is the lowest of the rank-they represent the workers. The triangle is the representation of armed soldiers. Lastly, the square is the representation of managers. In a way, they are like an ant colony due to the different tasks each symbol is designated to do.

And there you have it, that’s the reason that Squid Game dodged a lawsuit. Though in other news, the Squid Game cryptocurrency is down because of cases of stealing from investors.

We just wanted to add some facts about Squid Game before we ended.

Ready to Play?

And that concludes our get on the bandwagon segment today!

We hope you had fun reading this piece. Admittedly, the tv series itself is haunting and needs to have a trigger warning before the actual scenes. It has pretty heavy themes, and the gore is also something to keep in check.

Aside from the feel of the series, the design is remarkable.

Examples include:

  • M.C. Escher’s Relativity and Ricardo Bofill’s La Muralla Roja inspire the hallway that directs participants from the dormitory to the game room.

M.C. Escher’s Relativity and Ricardo Bofill’s La Muralla Roja

  • On the other hand, the dormitory set had leveled beds to show the social hierarchy involved during the game.

The Architecture of Squid Game: The Dorm

  • Also, Judy Chicago’s The Dinner Table was the inspiration for the last scene where the previous three contestants ate their last meal together.

Chicago’s The Dinner Table

The sets, ambiance, story, and symbols all contribute to the success of Squid Game. Despite the backlash about the English subtitles lost in translation, the Squid Game Logo indeed didn’t.

It is the epitome of a good logo: Long-lasting. It’s simple enough to be remembered, and it represents what the tv series is all about.

You can make a logo that is great too. You have two methods of doing that, you either hire a designer or create your own.

We can offer you both.

Here at DesignCrowd, you can hire a designer to aid you in creating a memorable logo.

Or you can head over to BrandCrowd and pick from templates you can edit and save as your own.

The question now: are you willing enough to play Squid Game?

Kidding, we can’t exactly do something that big of a scale, but we can help you build the face of your brand identity.

Now, the real question is: are you ready to create a logo as memorable as Squid Game’s Logo?

 

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Written by DesignCrowd on Monday, November 8, 2021

DesignCrowd is an online marketplace providing logo, website, print and graphic design services by providing access to freelance graphic designers and design studios around the world.

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