Authors
Abstract
The logo-brand relationship has been studied from partial perspectives that have not delved into the associative capacity of logo-symbolic design. The brand is shaped as a two-dimensional reality in which sensitive (tangible) and conceptual (intangible) aspects converge which are deposited in the logo that represents it. The objective of this research is to analyze the symbolicassociative possibilities of the design of the logos of some of the great Spanish brands, with the purpose of explaining the most decisive relationships in the configuration of this stereotyped corporate concept (brand). A methodological triangulation is proposed based on a focus group of eight people and an association test carried out by 332 individuals, who were subjected to a sample of the logos of the ten most valued Spanish brands according to Interbrand (2019) that lead different competitive sectors. The results indicate that these emblems are connected to sensitive (tangible) images, linked to products and/or services of the brands studied. Although the association of the logo design to the visual elements that compose it is much lower than what a priori could be expected, which indicates the high degree of symbolic projection of these visual signs. In addition, the ten logos in the sample are associated with (intangible) conceptual images related to the values that define the personality of the brands they refer to. It is concluded that the logos are constituted as corporate banners which bring together, in the symbolic complexity of their apparent aesthetic simplicity, multiple associations between their visual expression and their conceptual projection.
Keywords:
References
Barthes, R. (1984). Camera lucida. Reflections on photography. Fontana Paperbacks.
Bayunitri, B. I., & Putri, S. (2016). The effectiveness of visualization the logo towards brand awareness (customer surveys on product ‘Peter says denim’). Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 219, 134-139. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2016.04.054
Bettels, J., & Wiedmann, K-P. (2019). Brand logo symmetry and product design: the spillover effects on consumer inferences. Journal of Business Research, 97, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.12.039
Bollas, C. (2009a). The evocative object world. Routledge.
Bollas, C. (2009b). The infinite question. Routledge.
Bonales-Daimiel, G., Mañas-Viniegra, L. y Jiménez-Gómez, I. (2021). El impacto del flat design en el reconocimiento de marcas automovilísticas. Grafica, 9(18), 105-113. https://doi.org/10.5565/rev/grafica.205
Bresciani, S., & Del-Ponte, P. (2017). New brand logo design: customers' preference for brand name and icon. Journal of Brand Management, 24(5), 375-390. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41262-017-0046-4
Cabrera-Martínez, O. (2018). La evolución del prosumidor y las marcas comerciales en la era de las TIC. Revista Kepes, 15(17), 119-150. https://doi.org/10.17151/kepes.2018.15.17.6
Cai, Y., & Mo, T. (2020). Making an exciting brand big: brand personality, logo size and brand evaluation. Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences, 37(3), 259-267. https://doi.org/10.1002/cjas.1545
Chen, Y. A., & Bei, L. (2019a). Free the brand: how a logo frame influences the potentiality of brand extensions. Journal of Brand Management, 26(4), 349-364. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41262-018-0142-0
Chen, Y. A., & Bei, L. (2019b). The effects of logo frame design on brand extensions. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 29(1), 97-113. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-12-2017-1698
Daniels-McGhee, S., & Davis, G. R. (1994). The imagery-creativity connection. Journal of Creative Behavior, 28(3), 151-176. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2162-6057.1994.tb01189.x
Denis, M., & Cocude, M. (1989). Scanning visual images generated from verbal descriptions. European Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 1(4), 293-307.
https://doi.org/10.1080/09541448908403090
Dong, R., & Gleim, M. R. (2018). High or low: the impact of brand logo location on consumers product perceptions. Food Quality and Preference, 69, 28-35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2018.05.003
Fajardo, T. M., Zhang, J., & Tsiros, M. (2016). The contingent nature of the symbolic associations of visual design elements: the case of brand logo frames. Journal of Consumer Research, 43(4), 549-566. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucw048
Friese, S. (2021). ATLAS.ti 9 Windows. User manual. https://bit.ly/3vLXPVh
García-García, F., Llorente-Barroso, C. y García-Guardia, M. L. (2021). Interrelaciones de la memoria con la creatividad y la imagen en la conformación de la cultura. Arte, Individuo y Sociedad, 33(4), 1095-1116. https://doi.org/10.5209/aris.70216
García-Nieto, M. T., Viñarás-Abad, M. y Cabezuelo-Lorenzo, F. (2020). Medio siglo de evolución del concepto de Relaciones Públicas (1970-2020). Artículo de revisión. El profesional de la información, 29(3), e290319. https://doi.org/10.3145/epi.2020.may.19
Gil-Soldevilla, S., Palao-Errando, J. A., & Marzal-Felici, J. (2019). Advertising communication and spirituality: a critical approach of academics and professionals. Communication & Society, 32(3), 139-153. https://doi.org/10.15581/003.32.3.139-153
Grobert, J., Cuny, C., & Fornerino, M. (2016). Surprise! We changed the logo. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 25(3), 239-246. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-06-2015-0895
Groupe µ. (1993). Tratado del signo visual: para una retórica de la imagen. Cátedra.
Gu, B., & Yu, M. Y. (2016). East meets west on flat design: convergence and divergence in Chinese and American user interface design. Technical Communication, 63(3), 231-247. https://bit.ly/3n3AUSS
Halbwachs, M. (1992). On collective memory. University of Chicago Press.
Hsun, W. P., & Jie, G. (2020). Systematic creation of a city's visual communication: logo design based on the phoenix flower in Tainan city, Taiwan. Visual Communication. https://doi.org/10.1177/1470357220917438
Human, G., Ascott-Evans, B., Souter, W. G., & Xabanisa, S. S. (2011). Advertising, brand knowledge and attitudinal loyalty in low-income markets: can advertising make a difference at the ‘bottom-of-the-pyramid’? Management Dynamics: Journal of the Southern African Institute for Management Scientists, 20(2), 33-45. https://bit.ly/3zIFWb5
Interbrand. (2019). Mejores marcas españolas 2019. https://bit.ly/3jJr7jb/
Japutra, A., Molinillo, S., & Wang, S. (2018). Aesthetic or self-expressiveness? Linking brand logo benefits, brand stereotypes and relationship quality. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 44, 191-200. https://doi.org/ 10.1016/j.jretconser.2018.06.015
Jiang, Y., Gorn, G. J., Galli, M., & Chattopadhyay, A. (2016). Does your company have the right logo? How and why circular- and angular-logo shapes influence brand attribute judgments. Journal of Consumer Research, 42(5), 709-726. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucv049
Jin, C., Yoon, M. S., & Lee, J. Y. (2019). The influence of brand color identity on brand association and loyalty. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 28(1), 50-62. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-09-2017-1587
Johannessen, C. M. (2018). The challenge of simple graphics for multimodal studies: articulation and time scales in fuel retail logos. Visual Communication, 17(2), 163-185. https://doi.org/10.1177/1470357217746811
Kaur, H., & Kaur, K. (2019). Connecting the dots between brand logo and brand image. Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Administration, 11(1), 68-87. https://doi.org/10.1108/APJBA-06-2018-0101
Kelly, M. (2017). Analysing the complex relationship between logo and brand. Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, 13(1), 18-33. https://doi.org/10.1057/pb.2016.3
Kitzinger, J. (1995). Qualitative research: introducing focus group. BMJ, 7000(311), 299-302. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.311.7000.299
Kohn, A. (2020). Iconic situations: multimodality, witnessing and collective memory. Visual Communication, 19(1), 73-97. https://doi.org/10.1177/1470357218779117
Krueger, R. A. (1988). Focus groups: a practical guide for applied research. Sage.
Llorente-Barroso, C., & García-García, F. (2015). The rhetorical construction of corporate logos. Arte, Individuo y Sociedad, 27(2), 289-309. https://doi.org/10.5209/rev_ARIS.2015.v27.n2.44667
Llorente-Barroso, C., Ferreira, I., & Fernández-Muñoz, C. (2022). Creative attributes of branded content: analysis of awarded pieces in “El Sol” (2015-2021). Mediterranean Journal of Communication, 13(1), 127-145. https://www.doi.org/10.14198/MEDCOM.20783
Llorente-Barroso, C., Kolotouchkina, O., & García-García, F. (2021). The meaning of the logo from its semiotic construction and its reliance on new formats of digital communication: the case of Apple. Revista Latina de Comunicación Social, 79, 333-355. https://doi.org/10.4185/RLCS-2021-1529
Luffarelli, J., Mukesh, M., & Mahmood, A. (2019). Let the logo do the talking: the influence of logo descriptiveness on brand equity. Journal of Marketing Research, 56(5), 862-878. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022243719845000
Mañas-Viniegra, L., González-Villa, I. A., & Llorente-Barroso, C. (2020). The corporate purpose of Spanish listed companies: neurocommunication research applied to organisational intangibles. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 2108. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01705
Marzal-Felici, J., Martín-Núñez, M. y Soler-Campillo, M. (2011). Tendencias e hibridaciones de la cultura visual contemporánea. Una visión panorámica de un proyecto de investigación en curso. AdComunica, 2, 119-136. https://bit.ly/38IXPL7
Maya, J. y Patiño, E. (2020). Propiedades de las representaciones en diseño: una exploración interdisciplinaria de su rol funcional. Revista Kepes, 17(21), 17-60. https://doi.org/10.17151/kepes.2020.17.21.2
Morgan, D. L. (1996). Focus groups. Annual Review of Sociology, 22, 129-152. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.soc.22.1.129
Shang, Q., Pei, G., Dai, S., & Wang, X. (2017). Logo effects on brand extension evaluations from the electrophysiological perspective. Frontier in Neuroscience, 11, art. 113, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2017.00113
Sharma, N., & Varki, S. (2018). Active white space (AWS) in logo designs: effects on logo evaluations and brand communication. Journal of Advertising, 47(3), 270-281. https://doi.org/10.1080/00913367.2018.1463880
Sievers, B. (2017). A photograph of a little boy seen through the lens of the associative unconscious and collective memory. Psychoanalysis, Culture & Society, 22(1), 69-86. https://doi.org/10.1057/pcs.2016.3
Song, J., Xu, F., & Jiang, Y. (2022). The colorful company: effects of brand logo colorfulness on consumer judgments. Psychology & Marketing. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.21674
Stuart, H., & Muzellec, L. (2004). Corporate makeovers: can a hyena be rebranded? Journal of Brand Management, 11(6), 472-482. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.bm.2540193
Van-Grinsven, B., & Das, E. (2016). Logo design in marketing communications: brand logo complexity moderates exposure effects on brand recognition and brand attitude. Journal of Marketing Communications, 22(3), 256-270. https://doi.org/10.1080/13527266.2013.866593
Villafañe, J. (1999). La gestión profesional de la imagen corporativa. Pirámide.
Wang, Z., Duff, B. R. L., & Clayton, R. B. (2018). Establishing a factor model for aesthetic preference for visual complexity of brand logo. Journal of Current Issues & Research in Advertising, 39(1), 83-100. https://doi.org/10.1080/10641734.2017.1372325
Zhong, K., Wang, H., & Zhang, C. (2018). Brand elongation effect: the impact of logo shape on assessment of products' temporal property and brand evaluation. Nankai Business Review International, 9(1), 59-77. https://doi.org/10.1108/NBRI-05-2017-0022
Zhu, Z., Cao, H., & Li, B. (2017). Research on logo design and evaluation of youth education brands based on visual representation. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 26(7), 722-733. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-08-2016-1287