Logo Shape and Color as Drivers of Change in Brand Evaluation and Recognition

  • Matia Torbarina
  • Nina Grgurić Čop
  • Lara Jelenc
Keywords: corporate logo, brand awareness, logo likability, logo color, logo shape

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to test whether logo shape and color affect emotional and cognitive response to a new logo. In the explorative part of the study, the effect of the amount of each of the additive primary color on logo perception was examined. Research was done on a sample of 190 students whose ratings were used as logo description measures. Two independent vari- ables used in the study were logo shape (abstract vs. concrete) and logo color (original color vs. greyscale). Results showed that greyscale logos and logos that are concrete were recognized more accurately while liking was not related to either independent variable. It was also observed that the amount of red color in logo is negatively (correlated/related), and blue and green color are positive- ly related to both logo recognition and logo liking. Practitioners are advised to note that factors affecting consumers’ cognition and emotion are different. Scientists can extend findings on the effect of amount of individual colors in a logo. This is one of the first works of research that examined the effect of logo color on brand recognition and has approached studying color in this way of averaging amount of each of the additive primary colors. External validity of the research is enhanced by testing the younger generation in their natural habitat of mobile phone environment.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Matia Torbarina

University of Rijeka, Faculty of Economics and Business, Croatia
E-mail: matia.torbarina@efri.hr

Nina Grgurić Čop

University of Rijeka, Faculty of Economics and Business, Croatia
E-mail: nina.grguric.cop@efri.hr

Lara Jelenc

University of Rijeka, Faculty of Economics and Business, Croatia
E-mail: lara.jelenc@efri.hr

References

Aaker, D. A. (1998). Building strong brands. New York: The Free Press.

Adams, F.M., & Osgood, C.E. (1973). A Cross-Cultural Study of the Affective Meanings of Color. Journal of Cross Cultural Psychology 4(2): 135–56. https://doi.org/10.1177/002202217300400201

Adir, G., Adir, V., & Pascu, N. E. (2012). Logo Design and the Corporate Identity. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 51, 650–654. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.08.218

Arredondo, E., Castaneda, D., Elder, J. P., Slymen, D., & Dozier, D. (2009). Brand Name Logo Recognition of Fast Food and Healthy Food among Children. Journal of Community Health, 34(1), 73–78. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-008-9119-3

Atkinson, R. C., & Shiffrin, R. M. (1968). Human memory: A proposed system and its control processes. In K. W. Spence & J. T. Spence (Eds.), The psychology of learning and motivation (pp. 89–195). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0079-7421(08)60422-3

Barthelme, S. (2019). imager: Image Processing Library Based on ‘CImg’. R package version 0.41.2. https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=imager

Behance, n. d. Retrieved from https://www.behance.net/acongkecil

Belch, M. A., & Belch, G. E. (2018). Advertising and promotion: An integrated marketing communications perspecti. (11th ed.). New York: McGraw Hill Education.

Bellizzi, J.A. and Hite, R.E. (1992) Environmental Color, Consumer Feelings, and Purchase Likelihood. Psychology and Marketing, 9(5), 347–63. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.4220090502

Biloš, A., Turkalj, D., & Kelić, I. (2017). Mobile Learning Usage and Preferences of Vocational Secondary School Students: The cases of Austria, the Czech Republic, and Germany. Naše Gospodarstvo/Our Economy, 63(1), 59–69. https://doi.org/10.1515/ngoe-2017-0006

Blake, A. B., Nazarian, M., & Castel, A. D. (2015). The Apple of the Mind’s Eye: Everyday Attention, Metamemory, and Reconstructive Memory for the Apple Logo. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 68, 858–865. https://doi.org/10.1080/17470218.2014.1002798

Boling, E., Alangari, H., Hajdu, I. M., Guo, M., Gyabak, K., Khlaif, Z., Kizilboga, R., Tomita, K., Alsaif, M., Lachheb, A., Bae, H., Ergulec, F., Zhu, M., Basdogan, M., Buggs, C., Sari, A., & Techawitthayachinda, R. (2017). Core Judgments of Instructional Designers in Practice. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 30(3), 199–219. https://doi:10.1002/piq.21250

Bottomley, P. A., & Doyle, J. R. (2006). The interactive effects of colors and products on perceptions of brand logo appropriateness. Marketing Theory, 6(1), 63–83. https://doi.org/10.1177/1470593106061263

Bresciani, S., & Del Ponte, P. (2017). New brand logo design: Customers’ preference for brand name and icon. Journal of Brand Man- agement, 24(5), 375–390. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41262-017-0046-4

Business dictionary. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/brand-awareness.html

Buss, D. M. (2014). Evolutionary psychology: The new science of the mind (4. ed., Pearson new international ed). Pearson.

César Machado, J., Vacas-de-Carvalho, L., Costa, P., & Lencastre, P. (2012). Brand mergers: Examining consumers’ responses to name and logo design. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 21(6), 418–427. https://doi.org/10.1108/10610421211264900

Cheng, K., & Rolandi, M. (2015). Graphic design for scientists. Nature Nanotechnology, 10(12), 1084–1084. https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2015.290

Colman, A. M. (1995). Sight bites: A study of viewers’ impressions of corporate logos in the communications industry. Journal of Market Research Society, 37, 405–415. https://doi.org/10.1177/147078539503700405

Črešnar, R., & Jevšenak, S. (2019). The Millennials’ Effect: How Can Their Personal Values Shape the Future Business Environment of Industry 4.0? Naše Gospodarstvo/Our Economy, 65(1), 57–65. https://doi.org/10.2478/ngoe-2019-0005

Dowling, G. R. (1994). Corporate reputations: strategies for developing the corporate brand. Kogan Page.eMarketer (2019). Global Instagram Users 2019. Retrieved from https://www.emarketer.com/content/global-instagram-users-2019

Foroudi, P., Melewar, T. C., & Gupta, S. (2014). Linking corporate logo, corporate image, and reputation: An examination of con- sumer perceptions in the financial setting. Journal of Business Research, 67(11), 2269–2281. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbus-res.2014.06.015

Girard, T., Anitsal, M. M., & Anitsal, I. (2013). The role of logos in building brand awareness and performance: Implications for en- trepreneurs. Entrepreneurial Executive, 18, 7–16.

Henderson, P. W., & Cote, J. A. (1998). Guidelines for Selecting or Modifying Logos. Journal of Marketing, 62, 14–30. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224299806200202

Henderson, P. W., Cote, J. A., Leong, S. M., & Schmitt, B. (2003). Building strong brands in Asia: Selecting the visual components of image to maximize brand strength. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 20(4), 297–313. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijresmar.2003.03.001

Houtkoop, B. L., Chambers, C., Macleod, M., Bishop, D. V. M., Nichols, T. E., & Wagenmakers, E.-J. (2018). Data Sharing in Psychology: A Survey on Barriers and Preconditions. Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science, 1(1), 70–85. https://doi.org/10.1177/2515245917751886

Hoyer, W. D., & Brown, S. P. (1990). Effects of Brand Awareness on Choice for a Common, Repeat-Purchase Product. Journal of Consumer Research, 17(2), 141. https://doi.org/10.1086/208544

Hynes, N. (2009). Colour and meaning in corporate logos: An empirical study. Journal of Brand Management, 16(8), 545–555. https://doi.org/10.1057/bm.2008.5

Jacobs, L., Keown, C., Worthley, R. and Ghymn, K. (1991) ‘Cross-Cultural Color Comparisons: Global Marketers Beware!’, International Marketing Review 8(3): 21–30 https://doi.org/10.1108/02651339110137279

Jiang, Y., Gorn, G. J., Galli, M., & Chattopadhyay, A. (2016). Does Your Company Have the Right Logo? How and Why Circular- and An- gular-Logo Shapes Influence Brand Attribute Judgments. Journal of Consumer Research, 42(5), 709–726. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucv049

Jun, J. W., Cho, C.-H., & Kwon, H. J. (2008). The role of affect and cognition in consumer evaluations of corporate visual identity: Per- spectives from the United States and Korea. Journal of Brand Management, 15(6), 382–398. https://doi.org/10.1057/bm.2008.11

Khoury, C. K., Kisel, Y., Kantar, M., Barber, E., Ricciardi, V., Klirs, C., Kucera, L., Mehrabi, Z., Johnson, N., Klabin, S., Valiño, Á., Nowakow- ski, K., Bartomeus, I., Ramankutty, N., Miller, A., Schipanski, M., Gore, M. A., & Novy, A. (2019). Science–graphic art partnerships to increase research impact. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-019-0516-1

Labrecque, L. I., & Milne, G. R. (2012). Exciting red and competent blue: The importance of color in marketing. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 40(5), 711–727. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-010-0245-y

Landis, J.R. & Koch, G.G. (1977). The measurement of observer agreement for categorical data. Biometrics, 33(1), 159-74. https://doi.org/10.2307/2529310

Machado, J. C., de Carvalho, L. V., Torres, A., & Costa, P. (2015). Brand logo design: Examining consumer response to naturalness. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 24(1), 78–87. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-05-2014-0609

Madden, T.J., Hewett, K. and Roth, M.S. (2000) ‘Managing Images in Different Cultures: A Cross-National Study of Color Meanings and Preferences’, Journal of International Marketing 8(4): 90–107. https://doi.org/10.1509/jimk.8.4.90.19795

MacInnis, D. J., & Jaworski, B. J. (1989). Information processing from advertisements: Toward an integrative framework. Journal of Marketing, 53, 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224298905300401

Mandler, G. (1980). Recognizing: The Judgment of Previous Occurrence. Psychological Review, 87, 252–271. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.87.3.252

Miceli, G. “Nino,” Scopelliti, I., Raimondo, M. A., & Donato, C. (2014). Breaking Through Complexity: Visual and Conceptual Dimen- sions in Logo Evaluation across Exposures: Visual and conceptual dimensions in logo evaluation across exposures. Psychology & Marketing, 31(10), 886–899. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.20741

O’Connor, Z. (2011). Logo colour and differentiation: A new application of environmental colour mapping. Color Research & Appli- cation, 36(1), 55–60. https://doi.org/10.1002/col.20594

Park, C. W., Eisingerich, A. B., Pol, G., & Park, J. W. (2013). The role of brand logos in firm performance. Journal of Business Research, 66(2), 180–187. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2012.07.011

Peralta, C., & Moultrie, J. (2010). Collaboration between designers and scientists in the context of scientifc research: A literature review. DS 60: Proceedings of DESIGN 2010, the 11th International Design Conference, 1643–1652

Pittard, N., Ewing, M., & Jevons, C. (2007). Aesthetic theory and logo design: Examining consumer response to proportion across cultures. International Marketing Review, 24(4), 457–473. https://doi.org/10.1108/02651330710761026

R Core Team (2016). R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing [Computer software manual]. Vienna: R Core Team.

Ridgway, J., & Myers, B. (2014). A study on brand personality: Consumers’ perceptions of colours used in fashion brand logos. International Journal of Fashion Design, Technology and Education, 7(1), 50–57. https://doi.org/10.1080/17543266.2013.877987

Romberg, S., & Lienhart, R. (2013). Bundle min-hashing for logo recognition. Proceedings of the 3rd ACM Conference on International Conference on Multimedia Retrieval - ICMR ’13, 113. https://doi.org/10.1145/2461466.2461486

Salgado-Montejo, A., Velasco, C., Olier, J. S., Alvarado, J., & Spence, C. (2014). Love for logos: Evaluating the congruency between brand symbols and typefaces and their relation to emotional words. Journal of Brand Management, 21(7–8), 635–649. https://doi.org/10.1057/bm.2014.29

Singh, S. (2006). Impact of color on marketing. Management Decision, 44(6), 783-789. https://doi.org/10.1108/00251740610673332

Tanaka, J. W., & Presnell, L. M. (1999). Color diagnosticity in object recognition. Perception & Psychophysics, 61(6), 1140-1153. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03207619

van den Bosch, A. L. M., de Jong, M. D. T., & Elving, W. J. L. (2005). How corporate visual identity supports reputation. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 10(2), 108–116. https://doi.org/10.1108/13563280510596925

van der Lans, R., Cote, J. A., Cole, C. A., Leong, S. M., Smidts, A., Henderson, P. W., Bluemelhuber, C., Bottomley, P. A., Doyle, J. R., Fe- dorikhin, A., Moorthy, J., Ramaseshan, B., & Schmitt, B. H. (2009). Cross-National Logo Evaluation Analysis: An Individual-Level Approach. Marketing Science, 28(5), 968–985. https://doi.org/10.1287/mksc.1080.0462

van Grinsven, B., & Das, E. (2016). I Love You Just The Way You Are: When Large Degrees of Logo Change Hurt Information Process- ing and Brand Evaluation. In P. Verlegh, H. Voorveld, & M. Eisend (Eds.), Advances in Advertising Research (Vol. VI) (pp. 379–393). Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-10558-7_29

Walsh, M. F., Page Winterich, K., & Mittal, V. (2010). Do logo redesigns help or hurt your brand? The role of brand commitment. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 19(2), 76–84. https://doi.org/10.1108/10610421011033421

Walsh, M. F., Page Winterich, K., & Mittal, V. (2011). How re-designing angular logos to be rounded shapes brand atti- tude: Consumer brand commitment and self-construal. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 28(6), 438–447. https://doi.org/10.1108/07363761111165958

Watson, S., Thornton, C. G., & Engelland, B. T. (2010). Skin color shades in advertising to ethnic audiences: The case of African Americans. Journal of Marketing Communications, 16(4), 185-201. https://doi.org/10.1080/13527260802707585

Wedel, M., & Pieters, R. (2015). The buffer effect: The role of color when advertising exposures are brief and blurred. Marketing Science, 34(1), 134-143. https://doi.org/10.1287/mksc.2014.0882

Wichmann, F. A., Sharpe, L. T., & Gegenfurtner, K. R. (2002). The contributions of color to recognition memory for natural scenes. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 28(3), 509. https://doi.org/10.1037/0278-7393.28.3.509

Wickham, H. (2016). Elegant Graphics for Data Analysis Second Edition. New York, NY: Springer-Verlag

Whitfield, T.W. and Wiltshire, T.J. (1990) ‘Color Psychology: A Critical Review’, Genetic, Social and General Psychology Monographs, 116, 387–411. World Intellectual Property Organization. (2019). Retrieved from https://www3.wipo.int/branddb/en/

Wurm, L. H., Legge, G. E., Isenberg, L. M., & Luebker, A. (1993). Color improves object recognition in normal and low vision. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human perception and performance, 19(4), 899. https://doi.org/10.1037/0096-1523.19.4.899

Ye, G., & Van Raaij, W. F. (2004). Brand equity: Extending brand awareness and liking with signal detection theory. Journal of marketing communications, 10(2), 95-114. https://doi.org/10.1080/13527260410001693794

Yip, A. W., & Sinha, P. (2002). Contribution of color to face recognition. Perception, 31(8), 995-1003. https://doi.org/10.1068/p3376

Published
2021-01-11
How to Cite
Torbarina M., Grgurić Čop N., & Jelenc L. (2021). Logo Shape and Color as Drivers of Change in Brand Evaluation and Recognition. Naše gospodarstvo/Our Economy, 67(1), 33-45. Retrieved from https://journals.um.si/index.php/oe/article/view/2110