We encounter GMOs every day, and methods of selective plant breeding have been used for thousands of years. This kind of scientific engineering can help adapt crops to the changing climate and our growing population. GMOs, however, are still associated with agri-giants, which use them to enable pesticide use—with myriad environmental and human impacts.
To help imagine a future in which scientifically boosted crops have increased nutrition and hardiness, Fast Company turned to branding agency Collins, which developed a universal symbol that telegraphs bioengineered—or “plussed”—products to consumers. “The ‘+’ is familiar as a shorthand for ‘better,’ appearing in everything from entertainment, with Disney+, to education, with Pearson+,” says Brian Collins, the agency’s CEO and creative director. “Leading with the ‘+’ implies an inherent quality.”
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