Meet Inky: From a Sketch on the Sidelines to Your Desk

You scanned the code, so you’ve already met Inky. He’s the octopus on the box. Now you get the story behind him, and it starts long before he was a logo.

A sketch on the sidelines

Inky began as a doodle. Our Inkers, the name we use for each other, drew an octopus for our sports teams. Soon he was our unofficial mascot inside the building, a way of saying how we look after customers.

Nobody called it branding. It was an inside joke that stuck around. Our internal sports teams played everything from dodgeball to basketball, and Inky went on the jerseys. It made us unique. People started asking questions about us and what we were doing with an octopus on our jerseys.

An octopus turned out to be the perfect fit

An octopus has eight arms, and we like to think ours are just as capable at helping our customers accomplish their inherently complex “Swag Goals”. It also has three hearts, a natural fit to communicate the thoughtfulness, care, and spirit we invest in every customer and order. 

Then there are the brains. An octopus has a central brain and a mini brain in each arm, so nine in all. That’s a lot of thinking on one order.

Octopuses are also masters of camouflage. They change color and skin texture to blend into their surroundings. Inky does the same. He takes on the look of whatever group he’s with, whether that’s a team, a reunion, or a crew of coworkers. He lives in negative space, so he borrows the colors around him. His drops can be any color, though we’re partial to Inky Red.

2011: Inky gets a face

By 2011 we were growing. It was time to put into words what we stood for, who we serve, and what we do for them.

We brought in Chuck Anderson, a commercial designer, who tapped into the spirit of who we are. He turned it into an identity. Inky became the friendly face of a company that was getting bigger but still leaning on its values.

Fifteen years as a logo

Since then Inky has landed on millions of pieces of swag, our boxes, and TV commercials. He has been everywhere, and for most of that time he has been a logo, an icon, a shape on a shirt.

That’s a small job for an animal famous for curiosity. Octopuses explore everything in reach, and they rarely stay put. If you’ve seen Finding Dory, you know the type.

Meet the Office Octopus

While Inky was busy being a logo, we kept noticing another octopus. Every office has one: the person who organizes the holiday gifts on top of their actual job. During the season they do the work of three or four people at once. They juggle, they adapt, and they care how it all turns out.

This holiday, we named them the Office Octopus. We even made a 30-second film about them, in the style of a nature documentary, with a rare species spotted in its natural habitat.

Once we saw it, everything lined up. Our customers have eight arms too. We know a thing or two about octopuses, and the Office Octopus is who we build for. Know one? Tag them in our Office Octopus social contest for a chance to win a special prize.

Inky stretches his arms

In his 15th year, Inky is moving beyond the logo. He has the curiosity, the drive to serve, and three hearts that push him to come through for every customer. He deserves room to stretch all eight arms and stand for something more: the people who show up for their crews, and the care we put into every order.

The plushie is our first step. Inky has life, just like we do, and he can’t be confined by limits. You’re holding it, or about to. Stay tuned for what comes next, and follow along on our socials to track his adventures.

Organizing something for your own crew? Our group order feature and Design Lab make it easier to be the octopus.