What makes a good logo design

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What makes a good logo design?
Introduction
advice from marketing experts advice from graphic
designers evidence from research a look at a
study and resulting guidelines from Henderson and
Cote (1998)
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advice from marketers
tends to be a little vague, perhaps stating the
obvious, not really enough to justify many
specific design decisions

• catch the eye grab attention immediate
  impact hold the viewers gaze etc
• appealing to the eye enjoyable to look at
  aesthetically pleasing etc
• positive image speak well of the brand
  enhance the brands reputation etc
• represent the business appropriate to the
  companys activities etc
• easy to remember easily recognisable help
  customers remember the brand etc
• stand the test of time hold its value
  remain fresh and relevant with age etc
• easy to duplicate not too expensive to
  print suitable for a range of uses etc -

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advice from designers
tends to be enthusiastic but nebulous - often
changing from one task to the next depending on
the nature of the client
Im designing a logo for an exclusive garden
designer to go on a glossy brochure and on his
tender portfolios as well as stationery. Im
thinking of avoiding green and fine lines
altogether and instead use reds and browns with a
Modern typeface - what do you think?
The design should capture the essence of what
the company is about - to act as a flag, a
standard where the standard-bearer is the
physical medium on which the logo appears. It is
so important that the logo offers the world an
insight into the values of the company it
represents. You dont have to use green if you
dont want to. -
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advice from designers
plenty of sites on the internet that have a jolly
good attempt at explaining logo design, for
example
http//www.thelogofactory.com/library/articles/wha
t-makes-a-good-logo.html
quite a good effort at making it clear there are
no golden rules, that theres more to the
process than slapping a few coloured polygons on
the page and adding the company name in a font no
ones ever heard of -
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advice from designers
some are good at explaining their own priorities,
eg this from David Airey http//www.davidairey.com
/what-makes-a-good-logo/
There are four critical elements that can be
seen in every great logo design It must be
describable It must be memorable It must be
effective without colour It must be scalable
i.e. effective when just an inch in size Points
1 and 2 go hand in hand, because if you cant
describe what a logo looks like then how will you
be able to remember it? Point 3 is important
because colour is secondary to the shape. Adding
colour to your logo should be left to the very
end of the process, because if the mark doesnt
work in black only, no amount of colour will
rescue the design. Point 4 is vital for things
such as office stationery (pens, pin badges
etc.). All those little things that people often
forget about. -
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advice from designers
more resources from David Airey
http//www.logodesignlove.com/ Airey has
assembled articles and resources dedicated to
logo design, very useful and a practical approach
from a successful designer
http//www.logosdesigners.com/ Another of Aireys
projects - here he has collected a list of
influential designers with information about
their work -
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empirical research
surprisingly little from the academic
community probably a rich area for future
research for those that are interested some work
thats relevant
Aaker, Jennifer L, Dimensions of Brand
Personality, Journal of Marketing Research, Vol.
34, No. 3 (Aug., 1997), pp. 347-356 Bogart, Leo
and Lehman, Charles, What Makes a Brand Name
Familiar?, Journal of Marketing Research, Vol.
10, No. 1 (Feb., 1973), pp. 17-22 Cobb-Walgren,
Cathy J., Ruble, Cynthia A., Donthu, Naveen,
Brand Equity, Brand Preference, and Purchase
Intent, Journal of Advertising, Vol. 24, No. 3
(Autumn, 1995), pp. 25-40 Erdem, Tulin and Swait,
Joffre, Brand Equity as a Signaling Phenomenon,
Journal of Consumer Psychology, Vol. 7, No. 2
(1998), pp. 131-157 Henderson, Pamela W. and
Cote, Joseph A., Guidelines for Selecting or
Modifying Logos, The Journal of Marketing, Vol.
62, No. 2 (Apr., 1998), pp. 14-30 Janiszewski,
Chris and Meyvis, Tom, Effects of Brand Logo
Complexity, Repetition, and Spacing on Processing
Fluency Judgment, The Journal of Consumer
Research, Vol. 28, No. 1 (Jun., 2001), pp.
18-32 Muniz, Albert M. Jr. and O'Guinn, Thomas
C., Brand Community, The Journal of Consumer
Research, Vol. 27, No. 4 (Mar., 2001), pp.
412-432 Steenkamp, Jan-Benedict E. M., Batra,
Rajeev, Alden, Dana L., How Perceived Brand
Globalness Creates Brand Value, Journal of
International Business Studies, Vol. 34, No. 1
(Jan., 2003), pp. 53-65 -
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a closer look at one empirical study

• Henderson, Pamela W. and Cote, Joseph A.,
  Guidelines for Selecting or Modifying Logos, The
  Journal of Marketing, Vol. 62, No. 2 (Apr.,
  1998), pp. 14-30
• bases research on the following dimensions
  -(dimension is a statistical term used in
  psychology to refer to a measure that correlates
  with others to some extent when any or all are
  varied)
• Recognition - how easily people recognise the
  logo after previously being exposed to it, or
  believe they recognise it when in fact they have
  not previously been exposed to it.
• Affect - whether exposure to the logo results in
  positive or negative feelings, emotions, moods
• Meaning - to what extent the logo invokes the
  same meaning as others (stimulus codability) or
  some subjective meaning (ie not tied to cultural
  norms) -

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recognition

• customers may only have sight of the logo for a
  brief period
• walking down supermarket aisle, driving past
  billboard, flicking TV channels, flicking through
  magazine
• evidence from psychological studies suggests that
  the perception of images occurs more quickly than
  words
• recognition of an image can evoke memory of
  textual information such as brand name and
  strapline/tagline
• two levels of recognition
• remember having seen the logo before
• subsequently recall the brand that owns the logo
• making the logo easy to remember is a function of
  the design
• subsequent recall is largely due to marketing
  efforts
• false recognition occurs when people believe
  they have seen the logo when they have not
• obvious advantages for a new logo -

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affect

• affect can be transferred by association to the
  brand and public perception of the product
• eg Procter and Gamble moon and stars logo, Joe
  Camel (Calfee (2000))
• obviously the way people feel when exposed to a
  logo will have a bearing on purchase decisions,
  recognition and subsequent development of brand
  community -

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meaning

• stimulus codability
• term used by psychologists to describe consensual
  interpretation of a stimulus for our purposes
  the stimulus is an image
• subjective familiarity
• highly codable images also tend to feel familiar
  to the observer
• meaning of the logo
• a familiar, highly codable image will tend to
  remind people of the same thing
• eg what does the owl mean?

wisdom - Pallas, Minerva both had owls vision -
owls hunt at night, reputation for visual
acuity dignity - association from use of the
image based on the above -
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selection of dependent variables
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design feature dimensions

• selected arbitrarily in consultation with texts
  and professional graphic designers
• subjects were surveyed on how each example logo
  scored on a scale of the above characteristics
• various controls were in place to avoid priming
  effects
• the results were correlated and analysed using a
  range of statistical techniques to identify which
  features accounted for which variance -

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design feature dimensions

• Natural resemble common objects
• representative/abstract representative logos
  should enhance familiarity (obviously, because
  the logo is designed to resemble an object that
  is familiar to us), highly abstract
  representations are difficult to recognise
• organic/geometric organic refers to the
  chaotic, random shapes that occur in nature, and
  should be more meaningful geometric shapes are
  not common in nature, but may be familiar to us
  as part of our industrialised culture

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design feature dimensions

• Harmony symmetry and balance eg Gestalt
  principles
• balance logos that manage to present elements
  that even each other out from side to side or
  top to bottom may refer to ink/whitespace, size,
  complexity, colours
• symmetry reflected along one or more axis
  Gestalt school maintains that symmetry is very
  important for recognition and affect, elements of
  symmetry are very common in nature higher
  animals are symmetrical (although with
  variations) -

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design feature dimensions

• Elaborate richness, capture essence of
  something with simplicity, eg heraldic marks
• complexity classic graphics advice is that
  simplicity provides best affect, however
  psychology of arousal suggests that there will be
  a u-shaped response some complexity will enhance
  affect but too much will be detrimental
• active elements that suggest motion or flow
• depth perspective, 3 dimensional effects

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design feature dimensions

• Parallel lines or curves that run together
• Repetition repeat the same elements
• Proportion eg golden ratio
• Round curves, ellipses and circles as opposed
  to sharp corners and angles -

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selection of independent variables
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selection of independent variables
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selection of independent variables
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selection of independent variables
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variance explained by design features
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from discussion and conclusion

• Correct Recognition is achieved by naturalness,
  but too much harmony is slightly detrimental to
  recognition
• Moderate levels of harmony (the logo is
  not perfectly balanced or symmetrical) also
  improve recognition. These departures from
  perfect symmetry and balance (which are so
  common in design) appear to be more memorable.
• the relationship between harmony and recognition
  is not linear - there is a curve that peaks so
  that there is an optimal level of harmony -
  enough but not too much
• note that in nature, symmetry is not perfect, and
  a truly symmetrical photograph of a face, for
  example, looks bizarre -

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from discussion and conclusion

• False Recognition occurs when logos are less
  distinctive, more general
• characteristics include a lack of naturalness
  (less memorable than more natural symbols),
  high harmony (very common in design and less
  distinctive), and multiple parallel lines
  (which make symbols more difficult to
  distinguish).
• In addition, false recognition is increased
  when the logo's proportion is closer to a
  height of approximately 75-80 of the width
• the golden ratio or golden section is about
  68 aspect ratio. It occurs in nature (snail
  shell) and has been copied by artists and
  architects for thousands of years - very familiar
  to us -

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from discussion and conclusion

• Positive Affect is achieved with logos that are
  moderately elaborate.
• The best way to ensure more affectively pleasing
  logos is to select moderately elaborate
  designs (degree of elaborateness is a relative
  concept, and logos tend to be fairly simple in
  design). Elaborateness is a function of
  complexity, activity, and depth
• Slightly more elaborate logos should evoke more
  positive affective evaluations and will
  maintain viewer interest and liking over
  repeated exposure
• Naturalness (representative and organic) also
  improves affect, though the logo should not
  be excessively natural -

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from discussion and conclusion

• Familiar Meaning is achieved when there is high
  codability and subjective familiarity is evoked -
  ie representations of common objects.
• After all, a logo with an unfamiliar meaning
  will not evoke common associations across
  people.
• Familiar meaning can be maximized (without
  reducing distinctiveness) by selecting a
  unique, but easily interpreted, design of a
  familiar object.
• Familiar meaning is increased by naturalness,
  as this captures how representative and
  organic the logo is, and by having a
  proportion close to that of the golden
  section, as this is the most familiar
  proportion in design and nature. -

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the right design for the right purpose

• Henderson and Cote identify three classes of logo
  that might use the experimental data to inform
  their design
• High-recognition logos designed to maximise
  customer recognition and support the efforts of
  marketing retail brands
• need to be easily recognised after prior exposure
• need to recall the brand
• should not be easily confused with other logos
  and their brands
• Low-investment logos designed to look familiar
  even without the support of marketing and brand
  exposure new / small business, limited budget
• need to capture a high level of false recognition
• helpful if they are confused with other logos and
  brands
• High-image logos designed to invoke positive
  affect on exposure, but recognition not required
  business to business, holding companies,
  venture capital
• need to capitilise on features that have broad
  appeal
• need to avoid possible negative connotations
• possibly need to be difficult to recognise

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three types of logo that achieve different goals
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the right design for the right purpose

• Henderson and Cote identify three classes of logo
  that might use the experimental data to inform
  their design
• High-recognition logos designed to maximise
  customer recognition and support the efforts of
  marketing retail brands
• need to be easily recognised after prior exposure
• need to recall the brand
• should not be easily confused with other logos
  and their brands
• Low-investment logos designed to look familiar
  even without the support of marketing and brand
  exposure new / small business, limited budget
• need to capture a high level of false recognition
• helpful if they are confused with other logos and
  brands
• High-image logos designed to invoke positive
  affect on exposure, but recognition not required
  business to business, holding companies,
  venture capital
• need to capitilise on features that have broad
  appeal
• need to avoid possible negative connotations
• possibly need to be difficult to recognise

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design guidelines for achieving goals
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Sources

• Calfee, John E., The Historical Significance of
  Joe Camel, Journal of Public Policy Marketing,
  Vol. 19, No. 2 (Fall, 2000), pp. 168-182
• Aaker, Jennifer L, Dimensions of Brand
  Personality, Journal of Marketing Research, Vol.
  34, No. 3 (Aug., 1997), pp. 347-356
• Bogart, Leo and Lehman, Charles, What Makes a
  Brand Name Familiar?, Journal of Marketing
  Research, Vol. 10, No. 1 (Feb., 1973), pp. 17-22
• Cobb-Walgren, Cathy J., Ruble, Cynthia A.,
  Donthu, Naveen, Brand Equity, Brand Preference,
  and Purchase Intent, Journal of Advertising, Vol.
  24, No. 3 (Autumn, 1995), pp. 25-40
• Erdem, Tulin and Swait, Joffre, Brand Equity as a
  Signaling Phenomenon, Journal of Consumer
  Psychology, Vol. 7, No. 2 (1998), pp. 131-157
• Henderson, Pamela W. and Cote, Joseph A.,
  Guidelines for Selecting or Modifying Logos, The
  Journal of Marketing, Vol. 62, No. 2 (Apr.,
  1998), pp. 14-30
• Janiszewski, Chris and Meyvis, Tom, Effects of
  Brand Logo Complexity, Repetition, and Spacing on
  Processing Fluency Judgment, The Journal of
  Consumer Research, Vol. 28, No. 1 (Jun., 2001),
  pp. 18-32
• Muniz, Albert M. Jr. and O'Guinn, Thomas C.,
  Brand Community, The Journal of Consumer
  Research, Vol. 27, No. 4 (Mar., 2001), pp.
  412-432
• Steenkamp, Jan-Benedict E. M., Batra, Rajeev,
  Alden, Dana L., How Perceived Brand Globalness
  Creates Brand Value, Journal of International
  Business Studies, Vol. 34, No. 1 (Jan., 2003),
  pp. 53-65 -