Chapter 174: The Focus of the Meeting

Since there were no major developments in the civilian products sector, there was nothing left for Yang Hui to see here. He could only wait and see. All the support that could be provided had already been delivered, and when results would be achieved depended entirely on fate and Lei Ding's capabilities.

With nothing urgent on his hands, Yang Hui needed to plan ahead for the upcoming air show. As the Secretary-General of the Southwest Aviation Science and Industry Joint Corporation, tasks like the air show fell squarely on his shoulders to organize. Although the air show was still several months away in September, making early preparations was always prudent to avoid any unforeseen troubles.

To promote the new trainer aircraft, Yang Hui needed to find a way to capture some stunning photographs. Knowing the typical work efficiency of the Central Propaganda Department, Yang Hui instinctively felt that he had to take matters into his own hands regarding the promotional campaign.

First was the creation of static models, which was an absolute necessity. Fortunately, the base already had plenty of experience with models. They could simply build a few scaled aircraft models. Since scale models of the Super JJ-7 had already been made previously, doing it again was second nature.

Promoting the new aircraft required professional cameras, professional photography personnel, and most importantly, a dual-seat fighter jet. This was the only way to get their cameraman up into the sky to capture breathtaking photos of the Super JJ-7 during its test flights. Naturally, you couldn't expect the pilot to take the photographs, nor could you use a reconnaissance aircraft's gun camera.

Yang Hui had to track all of these down himself. Fortunately, fortune favored him, and through military connections, he managed to find a photographer from a military publication. A true professional indeed; within just ten days of arriving at the base, he managed to get a ride in a JJ-6. The perspective from the sky was entirely different, and the photos he captured were remarkably dashing. The base's test flight crew discovered for the first time that photographing an aircraft could be done in such a manner—in two words: "magnificent."

The subsequent batch of photos focused on ground-level perspectives. Under Yang Hui's guidance, they turned out even more striking than the aerial shots, acquiring an exceptional aura, especially against the backdrop of the setting sun. A single glance told Yang Hui that these photographs would easily surpass international average standards, meaning promotional efforts would face virtually no obstacles.

Finally, there remained one last crucial issue that was also the most troublesome, one that would likely spark another round of bureaucratic haggling if mishandled.

"To enhance our international image and align with global standards, the Southwest Aviation Science and Industry Joint Corporation is now soliciting suggestions from all base workers and leading comrades. Our corporate external image requires a representative identity logo. We are opening this logo design contest to everyone and hope all of you will actively participate, contribute your wisdom, and a reward of thirty yuan will be given for any design that is ultimately adopted."

Gazing at the newly posted bright red poster on the bulletin board, a group of workers and technicians who had just finished their shifts gathered closely together to study the higher-ups' directives. Yet, after pondering for a long time, none of them could quite make head or tail of it; very few actually understood what this so-called logo was supposed to be.

"Sigh, looks like this is just another one of those article submission things. Nothing to get excited about, let's all disperse."

With that, the person who had finished reading first turned to leave. However, the crowd was already packed so tightly that getting out proved to be quite a challenge.

"Hey, what are you shoving for? Can't you see I'm reading the notice? A thirty-yuan reward is enough to cover a whole month of my salary! You might not care, but I certainly do."

What? Thirty yuan? It seemed there had indeed been a mention of that just now. No, I need to take another look and figure out what this is all about. He hurriedly turned his head back to browse the notice once more.

"A logo? What kind of thing is that, requiring such a massive call for opinions? Does anyone know what this logo actually is? Speak up and enlighten everyone."

To win that thirty-yuan reward, one's design had to be selected. But first, they needed to figure out what a logo actually was before doing anything else.

***

There was always one or two people in any crowd who knew what a logo was, and at that moment, they stepped forward to act as a human encyclopedia.

"Speaking of this logo, it's actually quite simple. It's just a pattern that represents identity. You've all seen the Red Flag sedan that frequently appears in newspapers, right? This logo is just like the little red flag ornament on the front of the Red Flag sedan. Or think of the 'Jiefang' characters on our Jiefang heavy trucks."

Hearing this explanation, everyone finally understood what it was all about. Wasn't that simple? Anyone could design one themselves; who knows, they might even be the one to claim the reward.

The bulletin board, which had been packed solid just moments before, emptied out in an instant. Everyone rushed home to tinker with their own designs. After all, a thirty-yuan reward was nearly a month's salary!

Within a mere three days, Yang Hui received nearly a thousand submissions of all shapes and varieties. The simplest ones merely used the company's name as a logo, while the most complex featured a red circular emblem complete with gears, wheat sheaves, a sickle, and a hammer.

The sheer variety of designs was dizzying, but eventually, two final candidate logos were selected.

"Now that everyone is here, let's start with something relaxed. Yang Hui, please bring out the final two design proposals for the company logo, and let's all take a look and vote by a show of hands."

The company's routine managerial meeting was underway. The very first item on the agenda was to decide upon the company's external corporate logo—a matter that absolutely had to be settled.

Yang Hui had both proposals made into physical samples and presented them for the managerial board to choose from.

The first proposal naturally leaned heavily into the joint nature of the company. It featured a large equilateral triangle, with angle bisectors extending inward from each of the three corners to converge at a single point right in the center. This symbolized multiple factories and research institutes uniting together to form a single entity, while the stability of the triangle implied that the new company would be as solid as a rock.

One had to admit this proposal was very strong, closely capturing the collaborative nature of the enterprise. The managers had largely accepted this design, and it seemed the new company logo would likely be this one. However, the second design was equally impressive.

The second logo focused heavily on the company's background in aircraft manufacturing. It was also triangular, but instead of a rigid equilateral triangle, it was an acute triangle featuring a thirty-degree sharp angle pointing directly forward, with a straight, slender wake trailing behind it. Even the nose of the triangle was colored red, making the implication self-evident.

This triangle represented a supersonic aircraft streaking past at high speed, while beneath its wake lay the name of the Southwest Aviation Science and Industry Joint Corporation. This proposal unmistakably declared the company's identity as an aviation enterprise manufacturing high-speed aircraft. Personally, Yang Hui leaned more toward this design.

Both proposals were exceptional, each capturing a vital aspect of the company and both having their respective supporters. The supporters of the first proposal were mostly administrative leaders of the factories and institutes, who placed greater emphasis on the joint corporate nature. Meanwhile, the second proposal won the favor of leaders serving as technical backbones within the facilities, as this logo seemed much more aligned with the company's technical identity.

With just these two proposals on the table, no consensus could be reached. When a show of hands was called, literally not a single person raised their hand. Clearly, everyone realized the two proposals were evenly matched, and no one wanted to abandon the design they favored. They had no choice but to try and convince the opposing side.

What was supposed to be a routine three-hour meeting had stubbornly dragged on for four hours without reaching a decision. At that point, Yang Hui felt it was time for him to step in and do something.

***

"I think both of these proposals are fantastic, and discarding either one feels a bit regrettable. Therefore, personally, I believe it would be best to synthesize the two designs. That should resolve the issue."

Synthesizing the products of two completely different design philosophies—how could one do that? It sounded simple, but execution was difficult. Fortunately, Yang Hui had already found the common ground between the two proposals: the triangle.

What about the idea of using an acute equilateral triangle to represent a high-speed aircraft?

Wonderful, that was an unquestionable point.

Since that was the case, let's keep that element.

Similarly, what about the equilateral triangle combined with three converging lines?

Also wonderful, that was equally solid.

So what should be done? It was simple: take the acute triangle as a base, create three such acute triangles, arrange them in a circle at sixty-degree intervals, with all three acute vertices touching a single central point.

This created a combined proposal that possessed both the high-speed aircraft imagery and the three triangles uniting together, followed by the company's Chinese name at the bottom.

Yang Hui quickly sketched out his envisioned design—just a few simple lines without any unnecessary complexity. He drew it in a matter of moments, presented it to the room, and explained the symbolism behind the design.

The new logo finally satisfied all the leaders. It actually looked quite fitting and professional.

"Not bad, this proposal is excellent! Our Secretary Yang really knows how to think outside the box. This logo is wonderful. I say we go with this one. Let's vote by a show of hands, everyone."

Finally, Yang Hui's proposal passed with unanimous votes, bringing an end to the turbulent logo selection process. Following that, the meeting moved on to its other agenda item—the most important one of all.

"Our new trainer aircraft holds enormous potential; both the military and the Science and Technology Commission place high hopes on our new plane. Following its maiden flight not long ago, the military has already begun considering the possibility of repurposing our new trainer back into a combat fighter. We have just received word from the central authorities that we need to dispatch a delegation of five to Beijing to report and present our design proposal." (To be continued.)