A wordmark with a second reading
Lindon Leader designed the FedEx logo at Landor Associates in 1994. Its lettering creates a right-pointing arrow in the space between the E and x. The familiar purple-and-orange arrangement separates the two parts of the shortened company name.
Shaping the counterspace
Leader developed proprietary lettering drawing on Univers and Futura to establish the arrow. The result depends on the relationship between adjacent letters rather than an extra symbol placed beside the name. The directional reading sits within an otherwise compact wordmark.
What to test
Examine the mark first as a word and then as an arrangement of filled and empty shapes. Compare it with the same name set in an ordinary typeface. Where does the arrow disappear, and which adjustments restore it? The exercise shows how spacing and letter construction can carry meaning together, while leaving open whether a viewer notices the second reading immediately.