Intro
Do you think Logos have an effect over your consumer habits? Have you ever bought something from a shop just because you like their branding or even just wondered into a shop purely because the colour or shape of their logo appeals to you?
This is not an accident, there are a series of tools that designers can use to manipulate a target audience, or at least provoke a certain emotion whilst forcing a positive relationship between a consumer and the brand. These tools are Colour - Shape - Font, this has very much simplified logo design to it’s most basic but there are certain different emotions that are related to individual colours, shapes and fonts that a brand can use to their advantage.
This information booklet was made to try and inform the average consumer on what are considered the main areas a logo designer will use to target a companies desired audience in a subtle and stylish way.
There are obviously no set recipes on what creates a successful logo or definite emotional responses to certain shapes and colours however throughout time man has bound certain feelings and emotions to shapes and colours but these emotions are usually very personal to the individual.
Colour intro
The psychology of colour is an extremely complicated topic, many would even say impossible to to pin point specific meanings or emotions to certain colours, every body is different and has obtained different emotions towards certain colours because we have all had different memories and experiences of colour. Therefore it is not as simple as saying ‘red means this’ and ‘yellow means that’ because colour is personal to everyone.
However there are certain specific emotions that can be linked to certain colours but these are never set in stone.
The importance of colour in logos
As humans, our mind has been programmed to link certain meanings and messages to certain colours, Colour is probably the most powerful non - verbal form of communication and designers use this tool to pass on subliminal messages to consumers.
We have trained ourselves to stop at traffic lights when we see red and go when we see green, colours around us change depending on our environment or location, we check the colour of animals, plants and foods to see if they are safe to eat. Colour is a very informative way of visually communicating an emotion or message.
In this visual demonstration, the colour scheme of two completely different brands have been switched to prove that the colours we associate with a certain brand can not just effect our emotional connection to the product and the message it is trying to portrait about it’s product, but it can also hugely effect our recognition of the brand, companies build their brands around specific colour schemes to help strengthen their brand and force consumers to link positive consumer messages / memories to their colour scheme.
The original message that is associated with the Guinness brand is, masculine, power, quality and sophistication, this is clearly represented by the colour scheme that has been used in the logo, with black, gold and white as the three main colours.
The Fanta logo plays to a completely different target audience, it’s main aim being to attract a younger audience such as children and teenagers, they use really bright and eye catching colours to do this, with different gradients of Orange and green as well as solid blues and white. Therefore at the minute you get a feeling of sunshine, happiness, summer, beaches, fun as well as the obvious fact that it is an orange drink.
Once you swap the colour schemes of the two logos, all the unique messages that the brand it trying to send out to it’s target audience are lost, as the logos are very nearly un-recognisable, or at least it now takes a few seconds to work out who the logo belongs to rather than instant recognition.
Colour logo examples
Coca-Cola has used red as it’s primary colour since it’s invention as a medicine in 1885, the red and white combination creates a vibrant and eye catching outcome, the bright vibrant red, specifically creates the feeling of high energy and excitement.
The new Microsoft logo has taken the direction of many popular logos(Google, Ebay, NBC etc...) which use numerous different colours within a single brand, it is the specific tones of colours used and the order they are presented which specifically link them to their individual brand. Not only does having the colours red green blue and yellow make the company seem versatile but it also highlights the fact that they are a digitally based company which works in the digital colour mode of Red, Green and Blue, the combination of these colours is also said to signify strength, simplicity and boldness.
The Ikea logo is quite an obvious explanation as it clearly uses the colours of the Swedish flag. We all know that Ikea is quite a patriotic company and is very proud of it’s Swedish heritage, It was also one of the first major global companies to come out of Sweden and it had the job of representing it’s countries style, beliefs and culture. Blue and yellow also create the emotions of peace, tranquility, friendliness and sincerity.
Shape intro
Shape is probably the most important aspect when it comes to the design of logos, the human brain is hardwired to understand and memorise shape, this is how we learn. Words and letters are a perfect example of how shape can represent meaning, letters are just shapes that we recognise and associate with a certain sound. This is exactly what we do with logo’s but instead of sounds we read the name of the brand as well as any ethical, promotional or subliminal messages they are trying to portrait.
Simplicity
Todays consumer society has evolved to the point that nearly all major brands have got numerous competitors who sell pretty much identical products. This means that each brand must find a way to properly identify itself to be more attractive / better quality / cheaper than the rest of it’s competitors.
This is where the logo of a brand comes into play, it works as a visual tool so specific consumers can recognise the logo at a glance as they walk round a shopping centre or see an advertisement on a billboard as they drive to work.
Simplicity is one of the main factors to creating a successful logo, there are numerous reasons why having a simple logo is more beneficial than an over complicated one, The first reason is that most of the time we see logos it will be literally for 1 or 2 seconds, therefore forming a logo that uses unique but simple shapes will allow much easier recognition, even if seen for just a split second.
Making a simple logo will not just aid quick recognition, it will also be extremely beneficial when the logo is used on different media and at different scales. If you did create a logo for a brand that had a lot of intricate detail or over complicated visuals then it may work at a large scale format, say on a promotional billboard add or on the side of a bus, but when you scale it down to fit onto a business card or the side of a pen then it would make the logo nearly impossible to recognise.
This example of the evolution of the Apple logo will hopefully help prove that simplicity is key to a logos success, which of these logos do you just have to glance at to recognise the brand it represents? The good example is one of the modern day version of the apple logo, even though it is coloured differently to how Apple usually displays it, it is more than likely that most people that come into contact with this logo will instantly know what the brand is and what they do.
The bad example is the first ever Apple logo, which is an intricate illustration of Newton under the apple tree, however this is an example of a logo that would have never worked, it has no distinct shape or markings, it is a complex drawing which needs studying to recognise what it is, this is the first problem and the second problem comes with the scaling, as talked about earlier, even at the scale it is in this publication it is starting to get to it’s limit of scale without just becoming a black smudge on the page, therefore imagine it at a scale that would be necessary to fit on a business card or a smaller apple product like the Iphone or Ipod.
Visual Message
if a logo is structured around a clever visual message then this will attract more attention from the intended audience and if that audience has to stop and think about a logos message in order to understand it then the more likely the viewer will be to remember the brand and possibly form an emotional bond with the brand itself, forcing it to stand out from its competitors.
The aid of a clever visual message will also attract positive attention towards the brand and more than likely help promote the company further as people will talk, discuss, laugh or at least spend a few moments thinking about it.
Some brands have built their companies out of successful branding, a clever message does not always have to be obvious, perhaps it is intentionally not obvious, so people can see the logo for years and not notice anything and one day realise that there has been a message hidden within the logo the entire time.
Here are a few examples of clever logo designs that hold a clever visual message.
Versatility
Having a versatile logo isn’t really tool for the designer to use, but it is something that can effect the future of a logo, if a logo is good enough it will be able to be spread over every different kind of media both digital and print, they can be at any scale and remain recognisable. The best logos don’t have to rely on colour of text, they can use a simple shape or symbol and people will recognise it.
Nike is a perfect example of a versatile logo, it can be printed at any scale on any media and still remain recognisable, they can use it as the basis of all their designs including their fashion and sports products so it is now not just used as a promotional tool but also as a design.
Font
This is the final tool that a designer can use to ensure that the logo created portraits the integrity of the company, if the wrong or inappropriate typeface was used then this would ruin any progress gained by the use of good shape and colour.
Depending on the companies area of expertise and the products they create and the target audience they are tying to associate themselves with, will be the leading factor to what style of font would work the best.
Serif font - Serif fonts are generally chosen for logos and brands that see themselves as more traditional, upper class, high quality and sophisticated, again these rules are not set in stone, also you may find in some brand logos they actually use two separate styles of typeface, perhaps to appeal to 2 different audiences or to represent a part of the company that shouldn't fall under a serif font representation.
Sans serif fonts in logos are probably the most common option, there are thousands of Sans Serif fonts available, as well as designers creating their own unique fonts to suit specific briefs, However it is most commonly known that a sans serif font represents a more modern and trendy message, often used nice and cleanly and neatly, a good typeface for clear communication as it is simple and easy to read.
Script -when considering logo design it is often the case that script / handwritten fonts are specifically designed or created for the brand that requires it. You will find a script font used in different scenarios when relating it to logos, script can either be used to represent a signature style logo which could be associated with high class products or fame. Script is also commonly incorporated into brands aimed towards children, as it is often a more ‘fun’ / ‘ playful’ font but often looks messy if used in correctly, As well as the added problem that some script fonts are not that easy to read.
decorative - Decorative fonts used in logos are more commonly than not specifically designed from scratch for that individual brief. in the case of Coca cola for example, this is a very specific font, which was originally designed for coke and has not been used for anything else expect impersonations. Decorative fonts often are the main feature of the logo and in many cases they purely use the typeface and incorporate no other design aspects.
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