Dissertation: Do Logos Matter? by Reuben Armstrong

Reuben Armstrong, SNo. 95377008 MGR09301 Dissertation Word count: 8,581 Total Word count: 11477 (including refs/quotes/titles etc.)

Do logos matter?

Introduction This dissertation title is a question inspired by the current climate of design culture. Today, in the Western world logos are everywhere. They infiltrate our lives at every opportunity, spanning the physical world and the digital world. They are on items of clothing, on our food, on the sides of buildings and on almost every product we buy. Step out the front door in a city and you will see logos all around you. You will probably have already seen a logo on the key to your front door. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a task in itself to avoid seeing a logo on an average day. This discussion will evaluate the position of the logo in todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s society aiming to determine its importance. Is the logo the most important area of communication design? Or can we achieve an equal impact whilst avoiding it altogether? A logoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s role in society has changed over time and there are differences between a shape, symbol, signal and logo. The first chapter summarises the history of visual communication and explains how and why the purpose of a logo has changed. Logos fascinate designers because they are the pinnacle of simplified communication. Within branding they are seen to embody and summarise entire personalities, conjure emotional references and communicate quicker than the conscious human brain can compute. Books about logos are written every year and the second chapter looks at how they can become an obsession. Many try to define the techniques needed to design logos and try to explain it as a precise science, whilst others believe briefs need to be approached without preconceptions.

Logo designers are of course not the only professionals to act selfrighteous about their impact on the world, so how can they claim to be the most important facet of communication design? In chapter three we touch on some other forms of identity design and marketing techniques. A fascination with logo design is not just an interest within the design world; it is a consideration and topic for all consumers. Corporations have never had this level of ownership we see in todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s society. Through chapter four and five we begin to look at some case studies in the last 10 years that give us an incite into the way logos are perceived. In the UK and US today, public criticism and consumer power have lead to some logos being flogged in the press. Mass communication has opened up new possibilities for mass opinion and the claustrophobic marketplace sets designers new challenges dealing with clients desperate for originality. But signs show that these obstacles are just the beginning of a logo designerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s worries. The Western world has seen a growing anticorporate, anti-capitalist movement and in the last decade we have seen satirists targeting logos and their corporations. This is highlighted in chapter six as another issue with the logo in todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s culture and society, so by chapter seven we ask if the logo can be ignored altogether. Is the solution to such a difficult and complex debate to opt out of the conflict and design brand identities without logos? This dissertation gives logo design a sharp and frank dressing down, aiming to find out whether they can stand up and claim the number one spot in a graphic design culture aiming to communicate as efficiently as ever. In essence: do logos matter?

Chapter 1: A History of Logos In this chapter we examine exactly what a logo is and how it’s role in society has changed throughout history. The origin of the logo as we know it today can be attributed to many historical shifts and here we will see how time has altered our visual language starting with pre-historic symbols and following it right up to the modern day. The idea of a mark is pre-historic. (Thomas, 2000) When humans first evolved to use audible spoken language as a means of communication, over five million years ago, they could not have foreseen the detailed systems we would later develop. Humans are visual beings and we use our eyes to understand shape, colour and spatial awareness in a way no other animal can match. From as early as the 12th century BC, it is clear humans developed inks to use to communicate. Scratches on the walls of caves were followed by detailed hieroglyphic language and buildings shaped like pyramids by the Ancient Egyptians. Ancient structures such as Stonehenge in Wiltshire or the Temple Ruins in Ggantija in Gozo show an early understanding of shape and design. It is estimated that the Greek alphabet was created as early as 9000 BC – a clear example that humans had designed shapes for the sole purpose of communicating visually. All these early uses of shape could be taken as the world’s first logos. The world’s features and natural organic shapes influence them. For example, the Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic for water is two horizontal zigzags – a simplified version of waves on the sea. The shapes of the four elements that make up our planet (fire, water, earth and wind) have all become symbolised simply by

shapes inspired by their nature and these are still relevant in our visual communication today. These early symbols were developed thousands of years ago as a means of complimenting language. (Thomas, 2000) They inspired humans in their use of language; we are visually intelligent, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s perhaps our strongest sensory nerve. But our visual language has changed over time as we have affected the world. For example, the invention of the wheel changed our emotional connection with the circle in the 4th millennium BC. Of course, the world was not accepted by the masses to be spherical until the late 16th century, which has a massive impact on the way we use the circle today. Many global brands use circular or spiralling logos to signify their international span. Another clear example: Pythagoras used the triangle as a symbol of wisdom in 600BC, and later on it was used by Christians to denote the Holy Trinity. (Thomas, 2000) The use of symbolism was recognised by those who founded the religions we still have today. Judaism is said to have started over 3000 years ago and is still strong today with its symbol The Star of David and the iconic shape of the Menora. The cross was adopted as a symbol of Christianity around 2000 years ago, another example of a shape becoming associated with a separate subject. One could see this as a moment of branding, before the term even existed. The pen was invented around 500 BC and this enabled the individuals to create their own shapes and designs with ease. Thought could now be given to the way we communicated with writing. Many alphabets were developed with the most successful 5

still used today. One could argue that every character within our alphabet is a logo. The shape of the letter ‘a’ is accepted by both the author and reader to signify a phonic sound and a specific character within the language. A definition of writing states: ‘A group of letters or symbols written or marked on a surface as a means of communicating ideas by making each symbol stand for an idea, concept, or thing (see ideogram), by using each symbol to represent a set of sounds grouped into syllables (syllabic writing), or by regarding each symbol as corresponding roughly or exactly to each of the sounds in the language’ (thefreedictionary.com, 2010) Although the woodblock printing technique had been developed as early as 200AD, it wasn’t until mass graphic design methods improved to a feasible and profitable level that print could be used to brand entire ranges of products. Movable type wasn’t used until after 1000AD and the idea of the printing press wasn’t adopted widely until the 16th century. Such invention was critical in evolving the way that we live, but it especially effected how we produce consistent branding. In Renaissance Europe, the printing press introduced an era of mass-communication, completely changing many facets of society. The following centuries could only lead to an expansion of the philosophies inspired by the invention of the printing press. In the 18th and 19th centuries the Industrial Revolution changed Britain socially and culturally: with agriculture, manufacturing, transport and technology all expanding at an exponential rate. 6

By 1890, pre-packed and pre-sealed goods were commonplace – the beginning of packaging, as we know it today. Graphic design was practically all about layout and typography and logos were not truly implemented for several decades. There is a notable lack of consistency about the branding design from the Victorian era, plus fonts were not yet used clearly to distinguish products. (Museum of Brands, London, 2010) With an influx of groundbreaking and influential inventions such as the shopping bag (1912) or Henry Ford’s motorcar mass-production methods, branding and logo design took very important steps. Costs needed to be kept to a minimum and production lines were becoming increasingly common. Logos were placed on products as marks of quality control, proof, trust and value for money. (Olins, 2009) Businesses lost all their personal values and branding took that role relatively quickly. The world’s first branding agencies sprung up in New York and communication design was realised as a trade in itself. (Thomas, 2000) This is supported by the fact we now have in London a Museum of Brands, Packaging & Advertising that begins in the Victorian era. Brands we still have today were born and have been documented ever since. (Museum of Brands, London, 2010) With very little advertising regulations in the early 20th century, brands were allowed to boast in ways that would seem outrageous in today’s marketplace. “The Best In The World” and “Gold Medal Awarded” were used in marketing campaigns frequently and without proof. Simple graphic shape-based logos were clearly seen as less important than catchphrases and bold product claims. The logo had not yet found its role within branding; advertising copy lines and

typography on posters were seen as the way to capture consumers. (Museum of Brands, London, 2010) Shape, symbolism and colour were still mainly used in things like crests and flags, as statements of identity and pride. But branding agencies soon recognised the opportunity to design logos that fulfilled the purposes of quality control and trust but also encapsulated an identity and represented a personality. Brands of the time were writing their own history whether knowingly or not and our cultural language of colour and shape is still affected by decisions made then. For example the purple of Cadburys is still strong in many consumersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; minds today. The repetition of packaged goods was unprecedented and has impacted on visual memory and associated emotions. Colours and packaging design branched off into categories that are still very prevalent now. We now all recognise the shape of a milk bottle, the colour palette of bleach, and the size and capacity of an aluminium can containing alcohol. (Mollerup, 1997) Some general visual associations are of course specific to local areas of the world, as it all depends on the products consumed. (Miller, Brown & Cullen, 2000) But strong brandsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; strategies have spread like wildfire and influenced designs conceived later. Graphic design styles within the UK, Europe and US grew in efficiency through the 20s and 30s, probably due to the First World War. Costs needed to be kept to a minimum and marketing and packaging of brands responded positively. (Museum of Brands, London, 2010) This may have helped designers seek out and discover the most important parts of brand identity design.

After WWII, as the consumer was offered more choice, an era of individualism developed that is crucial to logo and brand design. Generally, there are now two lines of reasoning each time a consumer buys: “I know who I am, this brand suits me” -> Buy “I don’t know who I am, this brand offers me an identity” -> Buy (McCallum, Kemistry, 2010) Many perceive individualism to have negative connotations, worrying that people become ‘products of culture’ naïvely following trends and marketing campaigns. But it is now believed by some that individualism represents something entirely different and something that sets a new challenge to brand design and identity. If each consumer is instead self-motivated, active, reflexive and imaginative they will demand differing functionalities from brands and it becomes harder for the designer to generalise in terms of visual language. (Curran & Morley, 2006) The marketplace became extremely overcrowded and brands have realised that they needed to respect their history and the lasting identities have adapted subtly. A strong example of this is Coca Cola, when one looks at the packaging of a Coke can over the past century you can see how gradual the changes have been. (Museum of Brands, London, 2010) (thecocacolacompany.com, 2010) The world is now a much smaller place, with cheap consumer air travel, the invention of the Internet and mobile phones. Cultural backgrounds are merging with contrasting visual references and emotional imagery. (Miller, Brown & Cullen, 2000) This makes logo design for global identities a much trickier job and cultural errors all the more likely. 9

A sign states what it is, whereas a symbol has a deeper meaning. They imply an emotion or a significance that is dependant on the person looking at it. Visual symbols take on emotional meanings and they have changed over time, ultimately inspired and altered by history. One of the clearest examples of a symbol’s meaning changing is the clockwise Swastika. The symbol had been used as a solar symbol, whilst the word Swastika was derived from the language of Sanskrit where ‘svastika’ was used to intensify a positive message: “life is good!” “there is value!”. (sanskrit.org, 2007) But now it has changed forever having been used by the Nazi political party responsible for carrying out the largest scale mass murder in recorded history. The reason history is important within logo design is that it contextualises the definitions and meanings of shapes, symbols, typography and colour. (Thomas, 2000) ‘We inhabit a world, then, of signs which support existing power structures and which purport to be natural. The role of the mythologist, as Barthes sees it, is to expose these signs as the artificial constructs that they are, to reveal their workings and show that what appears to be natural is, in fact, determined by history. (McNeill, 1996) It is impossible to bear in mind the entire scope of history when designing a logo for the modern day so there can be no foolproof rules to logo design. Yet the next chapter pinpoints the many designers who try to wrestle with this exact issue.

Chapter 2: Logo Obsession In this chapter I will look at how easy it is to get obsessed with logo design, with an aim to finding out if a re-brand is truly money well spent and exactly how pretentious todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s design culture is. I will look at the cost of graphic design; the beliefs about semiotics and the never-ending supply of rules and guidelines published every year. Today logo design agencies get paid millions of pounds to make subtle changes to global brands. Look at how Coca Cola or Ford has changed slightly over the years. How much of a difference does a logo re-tweak make? Is it worth the money spent or are pretentious logo designers soon to be found out? Huge existing brands have a history and a ubiquity that designers need to respect, so changes have to be subtle. (McCallum, 2010) Getting this wrong can cause outrage as this dissertation highlights in chapter four. Research into the history of a brand as well as the cultural history of the target audience must be done and this takes time and costs money. More money is spent on marketing than graphic design in the UK and US, which could make it look as though logos are less important than advertising. (Davis, 2006) However they operate over different time scales; good graphic design works as a one-off capital payment whereas marketing is an on-going strategy to nurture consistency. Felicity Wade argues that â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;a major investment should be made in the graphic, then the marketing - in that orderâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. (Wade, 2010)

There are so many guidelines to pitching in graphic design, as it is seen as so important. This could be because pitching is story telling, it’s persuading, it’s an argument of why they should pick your work. If you have to argue in such detail, maybe this is because you feel you need to prove your exaggerated valuation for simple work. The argument in a pitch tends to state that the research and thinking behind the logo design is so good it’s worth its price. The previous chapter showed that the language of modern visual communication is subject to such an enormous range of factors, that the designer will never truly be able to solve a brand’s identity to suit everyone. Every individual sees the world’s story slightly differently which changes their emotional associations with shapes and symbols. (Miller, Brown & Cullen, 2000) To add to this, many brands are designed for the future. The fact is it is impossible to see into the future so it is guesswork trying to design for it. In the design business, research is time consuming and time costs money. Design culture constantly seems to seek justification. It is a culture that craves the admiration of its peers. Modesty doesn’t often earn you work and name-dropping, quoting and personal branding are all commonplace. Modern design culture seems to want to examine and simplify everything, including itself. In terms of stereotypes it is now ‘cool’ to be a graphic designer. Good design requires intelligence and an objective view of the world – specifications that regularly overflow into the realms of philosophy and psychology. Many designers believe semiotics have a key role within logo design. The subtleties of shape, colour, space and typography are key to a designer’s obsession. Optical illusions are often talked 12

about in logo design books in great detail but most of it seems lost on the average consumer. (Jacobsen, 1952) Colour theory is also a well-documented subject with its rules regularly applied to logo design. (Drew & Meyer, 2006) Some psychologists conduct an examination called ‘The Rorschach Test’ to examine whether the subject has sexual imagery on their mind. Many modern day psychologists have disregarded this but many of its theories are still adopted by obsessive logo designers. The problem is that designers can spend so much time thinking about the detail they can make outrageous misjudgements in underestimated areas that are obvious to the consumer. The key is to remain objective to your own work. But that is just one rule, written by one designer, there are a lot more… (instantshift.com, 2010) So many books are written every year about logo design. Everyone’s got an opinion, and they are different. Designers want to put things in boxes with labels; they want to control things with rules and science. (Weckerle, 1970) But visual communication is a living, breathing, evolving thing and it cannot be measured. Paul Rand gives better rules; keep it simple but as adaptable as possible. Failure to design for adaptability will make it boring. (Rand, 1952) The logo is just the start: it is easy to talk about a branding job in terms of the logo and ignore the accompanying identity campaign. (Brier, DBD International, slideshare.net, 2010) There are so many more areas that branding can get involved in, as the next chapter discusses.

Chapter 3: Branding Logo design is often seen as lesson number one in branding, but there are a lot of other very effective techniques. In this chapter we look at how many other forms of identity design there are and give them what may be overdue praise. The Dictionary of Business and Management gives a definition for a brand as ‘a name, sign or symbol’ – exactly what a logo is. But some argue that this is not the full story. (Daintith & Pallister, 2006) Ask many of the world’s best brand designers working today and they will say that the keys to branding are the underlying values, the hidden agenda and a consistent, recognisable approach. Walter Landor related this idea to the brand concept of the early Victorian age when a logo stood simply as a mark of trust. He said ‘a brand is a promise… identifying and authenticating a product or service’. (What is a Brand?, Ravensbourne, 2008) This can be taken much further conceptually, away from the constraints of a purely graphic mark. A brand is the summarised personality that, when applied to a product, make it appear unique. (Expectad.com, 2008) It is difficult to explain precisely what a brand is because it is the sum of so many factors. In a document for teaching branding at Ravensbourne it is stated: ‘It may be easier to first explain what a brand is not. It is not a logo, although a logo is part of a brand’. (What is a Brand?, Ravensbourne, 2008) Errol Saldanha resents the job title ‘graphic designer’ for not describing the full extent of the work that goes into a project: ‘Graphics refer to pictures and images – not strategies, concepts, words, sound, or animation. With the digital

revolution, graphic design has truly moved beyond graphics. Today’s graphic designer has outgrown the job title… “Communication” conveys that the work we do is functional and not just decorative. A “communication designer” must not only be creative, but strategic as well. Our work must deliver a message, not just a “look and feel”. We can work visually and verbally in all media because our talent is communication, not technology.’ (beyondgraphic.org/, 2003) Once you have strong brand values and, where relevant, a brand statement, there are many other types of brand identity that serve the same purposes that logos claim. This could be a musical jingle. An extremely popular example in the UK is the Danone jingle, “mmm Danone…”. In market research with focus groups, more customers remembered the jingle from the adverts than the look of the logo. The BBC’s musical chimes were ever-present in the early era of television; so successful that some logo designers claim it is in fact a trademark. (Diethelm, 1970) Sometimes shapes, letters or even punctuation marks can be used in a way that achieves the same qualities of a logo but in a much subtler way, that is unobtrusive and playful. A good example is Tuborg, who used the horizontal curly bracket ({) symbol subtly in all their brand material. The lager was sold under parasols shaped like the curly bracket and they also used it as an awning for their head office. (Mollerup, 1997) The ‘em dash’ has also been recently used a lot in the graphic design industry for it’s unusual length. Some companies, for example Build, use this punctuation mark as their own understated brand mark. It’s very specific use in grammar states that it is to be used as a pause in a sentence “not because of interruption but because the speaker is too emotional to continue”. 15

It is this kind of attention to detail that many graphic designers feel make the best brands, although overuse of such subtly can look pretentious. Per Mollerup calls these subtle uses of graphic identity, not logos but ‘fifth elements’. He states: ‘Immediate identification is the primary task of most trademarks. In certain cases, this immediate identification is best provided by a special type of trademark.’ (Mollerup, 1997) Great examples of this type of branding in the real world are the front grills of cars. A brand of car can be determined on a motorway at high-speed, regardless of colour, whether you can see the logo or not. This is because each well-known brand of car seeks consistency in the design of their front radiator grills. (Mollerup, 1997) Some would argue that this is determined by the logo design itself, with examples such as the use of the cloverleaf by Alfa Romeo. However, when Alfa Romeo launched a re-face of their brand, they changed the logo but felt the cloverleaf was too important a part of their heritage to disregard it. (Wade, 2010) Colour is another integral part to a brand identity. Whilst colour is also a factor taken into account within logo design, many logos are first designed as a single black and white mark. Some designers state that this is always the way forward to creating a truly flexible logo and that colour comes after. But, colour is incredibly important and colour consistency is a business in itself. (Drew & Meyer, 2006) Companies such as Pantone turnover millions of pounds each year developing systems that guarantee colour palette consistency. A lot of long-existing companies that have used the same colour over 16

decades are strong market leaders for this constant alone: CocaCola, Apple and Cadburys to name but a few. ‘The Cadbury’s purple’ is now synonymous (Wade, 2010) and their recent UK television advertisement proved and flaunted their strength. The television showed a gorilla playing the drums to Phil Collins; it had nothing to do with chocolate. But the specific Cadbury tone of purple was everpresent in the commercial and so powerful that they didn’t need to show any chocolate and the logo was only shown for the last two seconds of the original one and a half minute edit, faded into the top left corner of the packaging right at the last moment. In the book Colour Management for Logos, colour is stated as even more important than the logo shape itself. ‘The dynamics of practical color use are intrinsic to the process of solving a graphic design problem. Without color, the marks that humankind creates go unnoticed. Logos and the shapes they take are an important aspect of a given outcome, but color is the force that holds the mark together and engages and transfixes the viewer over diverse applications. Color sells a product. It has both physical shape and psychological/learned behavioral attributes that can communicate well beyond the size, shape, and scope of the mark. Color has the ability to transform and translate meaningful messages so that responses can be measured.‘ (Drew & Meyer, 2006) It is clear that within branding there are many assets and the most important part of each brand tends to change on a case-by-case basis. (Brand Mapping, Ravensbourne, 2008) Branding is not a 17

precise science despite it being the subject of thousands of books. But there may be some categories that one can sort brands into with trends apparent with some product markets. Lifestyle and fashion brands in the modern day are clearly effected by more things that their logo. (Rivers, 2008) The recent rise of celebrity culture in the Western world has seen clothing labels paying high fees to sponsor and promote their stock. It is clearly seen as effective as more money is spent on PR and marketing, as discussed in the last chapter. The counter-argument was that the graphic design must take prevalence, but there are many logos that are perceived to be poorly designed and ineffective, yet the brand and the company revenue seem in good health. Either way, for any incredible subliminality logos have, advertising claims to have it too. In fact, some claim this is never graphic designâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s aim at all. Advertising is sneered at by some graphic designers for being invasive and subliminal, whereas they believe true graphic design is about communicating a message in the clearest possible way. (designtaxi.com, 2005) However, advertising campaigns have been proven to turn companies around without the need to change the logo. A clear example is Marlboro tobacco company: their logo didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t adapt under health scares in the 1970s and advertising alone brought the business back into good profit margins and public opinion was improved. (Kellner, 1995) Judith Williamsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Decoding Advertisements boasts at the wide range of subtle techniques that posters have in their arsenal to use on the public. The first example in the book breaks down the narrative within a poster and outlines the decisions made by the designers. It is a poster for Goodyear tyres showing a jetty with a 18

car stopped at the end of it. The advert states that “after a 36,000 mile run-up, I hit the brakes at fifty”, suggesting the long-lasting reliability of the product. But Williamson reveals there is also subtle genius at play within this poster: ‘The outside of the jetty resembles the outside of a tyre and the curve is suggestive of its shape: the whole jetty is one big tyre. In case we need a mental nudge to make the connection, there are actually some tyres attached to the outside of the jetty, on the right hand side of the picture. The jetty is tough and strong, it withstands the water and erosion and does not wear down: because of the visual resemblance, we assume that this is true of the tyre as well.’ (Williamson, 1978) On the poster the logo is nudged to the very bottom of the layout. It is slightly faded in grey and one of the last things you will consciously recognise. It also appears small in the top left hand corner, this time in white with a diamond box around it. One could argue that the logo has been mistreated and that this inconsistent use is a proven error that harms a brand. But the fact is this advertisement was successful and achieved things that the logo could not. The product’s selling point is its durability and ability to withstand hard breaking; the logo does not communicate this as its italic font gives a dynamic sense of speed. It is also impossible to argue that the logo is there to state the brand name, as “Goodyear” is written 3 more times not including the logo. Judith Williamson’s book states that advertising can communicate between a person and a product subliminally and blatantly, just as logo designers claim a logo can. She goes on to state that meaning

and brand values are crucial whilst logos are never highlighted with similar importance.

Chapter 4: Logos Today Now, in the 21st century, consumers have more power than ever before. Whilst the marketplace is also crowded and cramped, it also offers a wide range of choice, so customers and consumers can vote with their feet. Due to globalisation and the Internet, the world has become a smaller place. Secrets are harder to keep and brands are forced to be (or seem) at least more holistic. But an increased public ownership of brands makes re-branding more contentious than ever before. They can go disastrously wrong (Johanssen, 2009). News media is so quick today, with sites such as Twitter showing a general public opinion within minutes, maybe it makes it impossible to launch a logo. It’s certainly difficult to determine the difference between an outcry due to a bad design and a loyal customer base not embracing change. (Kuang, FastCoDesign.com, 2010) For example, the London 2012 logo, when it was launched back in 2007, having had £400,000 spent designing it; there was a public uproar. (bbc.co.uk, 2007) The animation was said to have given epileptic fits and within 3 days there was a petition with over 48,000 signatures against the logo. (gopetition.co.uk, 2007) No logo in the UK has ever been publicly criticised so quickly and to such an extent as this, so there must be special circumstances. (davidairey.com, 2007) Firstly, to quote the designer himself Wally Olins of Wolff Olins, “there is a difference between product brands and service brands”. Product brands display an identity that can be separate from the product itself; it can be stylised and personified. Whereas a service brand is all about people, the people who work for that brand: providing that service, representing it, putting their

reputations on the line, sitting in call-centres or providing the service in person. Wally Olins even went, as far as to say, “most service brands are awful”. (Olins, 2009, p.14) London 2012 was definitely a service brand. It wasn’t just a representative of the committee that placed the bid; it serviced the people of Britain and especially London. There was a very strong public ownership to be taken into account. Another specific argument to bear in mind about the London 2012 logo outcry is the cultural mood of British people. To use a lazy stereotype you could say that British people ‘love a bit of a complain’. When you look further than that sarcastic and pessimistic stereotype you will also find the extremely patriotic and passionate Brits. It is a proven fact that “strongly committed consumers” are more likely to dislike re-brands (money.usnews.com, 2009) and a lot of British people are very proud of their country. ‘The general British public’, whoever they are, have had their power talked up over recent years and they now seem to sense their own power in numbers. Felicity Wade makes the point that the London 2012 logo has a very modern styling and believes that the UK is less accepting of modern culture than other societies. (Wade, 2010) The colour scheme and the angled shapes are very brash and echoes 1980 pop culture. In the London 2012 case study on the Wolff Olins website they reason that the branding is powerful, inclusive and edgy. However, they also describe is as “unconventionally bold, deliberately spirited and unexpectedly dissonant”. (wolffolins.com, 2007) One could argue that if a designer feels the need to state that their work is ‘deliberate’ they are in deep trouble and whilst Wolff Olins rightly

claim it is “instantly recognisable” it is probably for many of the wrong reasons. Branding has always been blatant. But as technology has improved it has become a lot easier to set up a brand and launch a label, so the market has become very competitive. In the last 30 years, fashion labels and brand logos have become symbols of status. In turn, fake designer bags have become commonplace and the logos have lost some trust. This turns their purpose on their head: original used and designed as a form and mark of quality, they cannot be trusted. The idea of a logo itself can now be perceived to symbolise capitalism (Klein, 2000) and that is something that many brands want to avoid. As a lash-back against that, we have seen a trend that many companies are adopting. Those that either want to be perceived as ‘high-end’ or ‘holistic’ take on an ‘anti-brand’. An ‘antibrand’ still follows the same rules, they must still be recognisable and repetitive but the key is that they are less blatant. We have seen many more typographic, clean logos and some very inventive uses of the ‘ever-changing logo’. A good example is the current AOL logo. Using arguably the most simplistic and refined fonts of all-time Helvetica, they have used the shape of the logotype as a ‘gap’ or ‘hole’ or ‘matte’. This reveals an image or illustration behind, which can change. It can be anything within the reason of the quite open brand manual set by the design agency. Thus, the repetitive nature of the logo is less obvious and it is more adaptable, two key things that many modern brands want to be perceived as.

Anyone can make a snap decision looking at a mark on paper, exclaiming whether that particular arrangement of shape, colour and text is pleasing to the eye or relevant to the subject. So perhaps logos are an easy target, but what many of the less designsavvy consumers fail to see is the context. Logo launches nowadays must be handled very carefully â&#x20AC;&#x201C; especially for service brands.

Chapter 5: Case Studies & Research In Appendix B we have a survey with five contrasting logo case studies. Each logo was interpreted negatively in different ways by the participants and are all examples of how a logo can harm a brand’s public opinion. The first case study features the National Theatre logo, a typographic mark highlighting overlapping serifs between a capital N and capital T. Although the survey was conducted in London, the home to the National Theatre, only 15% of the participants recognised the brand from looking at the logo. The logo design sent confused messages and did not communicate its subject. The mark conjured military references due to its stencilled font and was ultimately a hindrance to the brand’s image. The logo received an average rating of 4 out of 10 - a damaging public response to the brand. The following two logos for BP and McDonalds collected improved results in terms of being recognisable and memorable, however they were not freed from negative connotations. Although the BP logo received more positive feedback than negative, its message was misleading. ‘Flower’ and ‘colourful’ were common responses, which project positive connotations but are not immediately associated with the business of petroleum. With the Internet providing us with an era of mass-communication like no previous moment in history and with computer software readily available to millions worldwide, it is much easier now to subvert a brand’s logo. In 2010 BP have received large amounts of bad press for their responsibility in the Gulf of Mexico where there was a large oil spill. The results of the survey show that the logo

distracted from the bad press in many cases, although not entirely. The aim of this logo is clearly to trick the consumer with its brand image juxtaposing it’s subject, but this technique can be antagonistic. After the news of the oil spill this year the BP logo was easily subverted by angry protestors and could now be construed as a problem. Environmentalists also complained that the £4.5m design fee could have been better spent on forms of renewable energy. (Geoghegan, bbc.co.uk, 2010) The McDonalds logo faces similar negative implications, but is less receptive to subversion. There are clear problems with this logo that it has almost become an icon of capitalism (Keel, 2000) and the company image has been damaged by documentary films like Supersize Me and Michael Moore’s Capitalism: A Love Story. These issues are addressed by tailored advertising campaigns and the logo has become such an important part of the brand heritage it cannot change without creating angering the loyal customer base. Case study four looks at the Mitre logo, which received an average of 4.975 out of 10, a poor score. Immediately it is plain to see that there is a bad reaction to this logo. Although 25 out of the 40 questioned knew the brand, the logo received many negative comments. Over 90% of the negative comments were related to the logo, as those who described it as ‘dull’ or ‘boring’ admitted this was an opinion influenced regardless by advertising or reputation of the company. Ultimately this logo does not achieve it’s key aims: only 62.5% recognised it and only five responded mentioning the brand’s main product market of football or sport. The Nazi Party logo was responded to negatively 27 times out of 40 and the responses were much stronger negative summaries than the contrasting logos. However, these strong negative connotations 26

were mostly attributed to other things and the logoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s average score out of ten was in fact relatively high at 6.9. This shows that the general opinion is that the logo itself is not badly designed and that the negatives are associated with the mark due to the reputation and history of itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s subject. The questionnaire does not specify whether the participant should describe the logo or the company in part (ii) of each case study. It is clear from the results that when participants describe the mark in question visually, they keep eye contact with that mark. Appendix B shows that 95.2% of the participants looked at the logo when describing it literally and visually. It should be taken into account that this survey does not create a context that logos are ordinarily interpreted, but it gives them an opportunity to exaggerate their impact. Despite this, the messages emitted were often confused and could not communicate their subjects without the support of other brand identity techniques. Appendix C looks at the impact of other brand techniques and how they provide a context for a logo to work in. In January 2010 Michael Johnson came to Ravensbourne College of Design & Communication to launch the new identity of the college to the students. Johnson Banks had been tasked with designing a brand identity that would communicate the collegeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s shift away from other universities, aligning it with broadcasting facilities houses and industry level training courses. The logo sparked a strong negative reaction amongst the students, who voiced their opinions immediately. (rachelirwindesign.blogspot.com, 2010) A petition to call back the logo was started and many Facebook groups grew in protest. This case has special conditions; it is understandable that any logo representing a group of designers is going to be under 27

increased scrutiny. Perhaps a more open approach involving a discussion with the students would have achieved better PR results. The results in Appendix C show that many of the students feel less anger toward the logo now they have seen the context of the logo. This shows that the initial objections were not directed at the brand’s shift of direction, but purely at the design of the logo. However the dislike is still strong for the logo and of those questioned if they would prefer Ravensbourne not to have a logo at all, 65% favoured this suggestion, a surprisingly high result considering that logo design is highlighted as a key module on the Graphic Design degree course. One could argue that Johnson Banks considered the negative connotations of a logo and hence designed six adapting versions of the logo; this may have been inspired by Stefan Sagmeister’s Casa de Música logo. Stefan Sagmeister is a highly regarded designer within the design world and it’s his ability to think with clarity and innovation that grants him with such respect from his peers. His brand design for music centre Casa de Música in Portugal is famous for it’s unusual logo solution. Sagmeister and his team of designers created a logo generator, mapping the angled shape of the Casa de Música building, and allowing it to be used as a logo from six angles, with any colour palette. The brand was given a bespoke font and layout systems for their posters, which increases consistency and makes it instantly recognisable. This brand identity isn’t ‘no logo’, but it avoids being overtly capitalist, which suits the client perfectly. (Sagmeister, 2009)

Chapter 6: Anti-logo Movement Logos have become tarnished by capitalism. Their blatancy has become annoying and this has sparked a fight back. In 1999 Naomi Klein published a critically acclaimed book titled No Logo, swinging an angry fist at capitalist culture and documenting a growing movement against the corporate trend. (Klein, 2000) One could argue that the fact she named the book No Logo was iconic in itself and it’s success must have done more damage to logos in particular than it did to corporate branding. A counterargument labels brands with the blame, not just logos, describing them as ‘spiritually empty, gradually undermining our moral values’. (economist.com, 2001) But it seems once again, the logo is an easy target and the effect of Klein’s book is clearly noticeable. Absolut Vodka recently launched a limited edition campaign called "Absolut No Label". The company's global PR manager, Kristina Hagbard, explained, "for the first time we dare to face the world completely naked. We launch a bottle with no label and no logo, to manifest the idea that no matter what's on the outside, it's the inside that really matters." (Klein, theguardian.co.uk, 2010) The irony of the campaign is that it perfectly fits all of Absolut’s brand values (purity, clarity, confidence) whilst their most powerful brand symbol is not the logotype but the shape of the bottle itself. They know this, as their back-catalog of posters proves. (amog.com, 2009) Artists and satirists have found logos a popular topic to highlight since Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup paintings. More recent examples include the BAFTA award-winning Logorama, and Internet animation sensations Love & Theft (by Andreas Hykade) and

Hyperaugmented Reality (by Keiichi Matsuda). These satirists making animations about logos seem to relish the recognition of logo design just as much as they pinpoint the overload that a capitalist culture throws at us. Public opinion is very important to logo-design and blatant repetition is not always acceptable. The public must accept that the logo stands for what it claims and the embedding process relies on the surrounding branding campaign. Any campaign is subject to contextual cultural and social change. (Miller, Brown & Cullen, 2000) In any big corporation change happens slowly as brand managers are trained to resist exactly that. Whilst this may be important when trying to achieve consistency with a logo design, it is not the perfect tactic for branding, especially in a society that is changing at an exponential rate. Wally Olins himself says, “the next step for brands is social responsibility”. (Olins, 2009) “Brands of the future will have to stand not only for product quality and a desirable image. They will also have to signal something wholesome about the company behind the brand.” (The Economist, 2001) Whether Mr. Olins has learnt his own lesson will be unclear until the London 2012 unveiling.

Chapter 7: Going ‘Logoless’ In this chapter we discuss whether it is it possible to have a brand without a logo. There are clearly negative associations with logos in the Western world today and if other types of brand design can serve all the purposes of a logo maybe a logo-less design is a neat solution for designers to have in their arsenal. Some brands become so engrained into our lives that they can be playful with their marketing. Heinz recently aired a television advert named ‘Invisible Bottle’, showing scenes of a wide range of people applying invisible sauce to their food. The product itself is not shown until the final seconds of the sequence with the tagline “it has to be…” next to a bottle of ketchup. It is a statement of confidence in the product and puts a case forward to say that it is a successful brand now simply because of it’s heritage. Heinz marketing director Adrian Mooney admitted that Heinz is ‘a brand that has over 50% volume share and 70% value share so the key thing is retention of loyal customers’. The advert was recognised as a successful campaign and won UK advert of the month on the Thinkbox website in June 2009. (thinkbox.tv, 2010) Heinz of course does have a logo, but it accepted that today it’s possible to have more of an impact in a more subtle and classy way. This wouldn’t work as a campaign without the unique heritage that Heinz has registered, but there are many more examples of a shift towards a more obscure approach to both advertising and branding. (thinkbox.tv, 2009) We have seen increasingly innovative logo designs in the past 10 years as some of the world’s top designers have recognised the negative connotations that come with a blatant logomark. In chapter five I highlighted the examples of Stefan Sagmeister’s Casa 31

de Música logo generator and Johnson Banks’ Ravensbourne brand. Increasingly nowadays we are seeing branding and identity jobs with typographic outcomes or adaptable logos. It is almost like the designer is trying to hide their work. When Muji first launched their company their aimed to have no logo and no name. It perfectly suited their minimalism Japanese product line and appealed to consumers that didn’t want their homes to be full of logos. Their products are sustainably designed using mostly recycled materials and their target audience are not your average capitalist consumer, or at least those who want to resist those types of product. (businessweek.com, 2007) But this brand is not as innocent as it seems when examined more closely – there are some clear brand decisions that have been made and they are not entirely logo-free. The Japanese word ‘muji’ translates as ‘no logo, quality products’. Many of their storefronts have a recognisable typographic logo; they consistently use capitalised Helvetica with a deep red and white colour palette. Now nearly every product in the shop has this Muji logo on it and they have branches in 18 countries. This could be proof that it is impossible to expand a brand to this size without a logo: ‘no logo’ is Muji’s ethos; it’s their brand value, yet they still apparently require a logo. (Wade, 2010) Having no logo means it’s harder to manage and control the brand, you need to be up to the task. For some businesses it’s clear that’s just not viable. Muji may have lost some its cult status, but as it’s a swap for higher profits their management won’t mind. American Apparel uses the so-called simplest and most efficient font Helvetica, to simply write the name of its company in black on white. Some could think this is an anti-brand, they don’t put their 32

logo or name on their t-shirts, and they sell a lot of blank, one colour clothing. In a world now full of logos and branding shouting at us from every direction this bold simplicity is supposed to catch us by surprise. It is almost an anti-capitalist statement, although you would be very wrong to presume that. The alliteration in the name, the exclusion zones for the text, the global spread of branches, the unique credos of the company and the brand statement are all present, leaving American Apparel just as branded as any other clothing company. The iPhone is an example of a product without a logo. Perhaps, if the product is really that good you don’t even need a logo. The corporation, in this case Apple, have a logo, but that logo represents more than the iPhone. Everyone knew the iPod; it was the best in its field. All that was need is to take the ‘i’ and add the word ‘phone’ and everyone immediately knows what it is. People talk about it and the name sticks. One could argue the spoken word ‘iPhone’ is the logo for that product. It has been so popular that its logo is invisible - it’s a sound. However, it mustn’t be overlooked that in Apple’s adverts they consistently kern the word iPhone in the same specially tweaked font, Apple Myriad, but here written on this page in Verdana, you know what it means. The word speaks not the font. You could also argue the iPhone’s design is it’s logo but that is not true, as the design has changed and it’s still remains the iPhone. You don’t need to show a picture when talking about it people know what it is. What this example shows is that the reputation of the product needs to be strong for this ‘no logo’ strategy to work, but that can be left to the PR team, that is not necessarily the graphic designer’s responsibility. In the 2010 BBC series The Junior Apprentice, the winning youth picked by Sir (now Lord) Alan Sugar was a boy whose triumph came 33

from a branding decision made on the final task. The teams were given the task of advertising a bottle of water. Winner Arjan and team-mate Tim pulled off the ultimate ‘anti-brand’, quite literally naming theirs ‘a bottle of water’. It wasn’t entirely without a logo as they did put a little wave in the middle of the ‘o’ and repeated the typographical logo with consistent kerning and layout throughout their product. However, this was probably just to make it recognisable despite it being a product that was being launched from scratch. For some 17 year-olds it was an impressive effort. Typographic logos have many immediate benefits that icons, marks and emblems cannot immediately achieve; they are readable, pronounceable and immediately attractive. (Diethelm. 1970) This may be because they are more acceptable to the eye due to the recognised shapes within – the individual forms of the characters. However, visual motifs and references will make a logo even more memorable. (Wade, 2010) There are certainly new difficulties that arise with a ‘no logo’ strategy, but this may be because by stating it as an actual strategy is ultimately admitting that it is a designed and contemplated decision. Concentrating on hiding a facet of identity is a negative way of looking at branding, when the ‘glass-half-full’ approach would be to concentrate on flaunting another side of the brand’s strength proudly. Some argue that logos aren’t key anymore. Learning from the Gap logo debacle in 2010, Steve McCallion writes ‘social platforms (where there is actual interaction and the ability to create real value for people) are more important than a static, control-heavy logo.’

To summarise, it would appear possible to go without a logo, but only for so long. The fact that iPhone has no logo shows us if your product is good enough, giving it the space to speak for itself could be the perfect vote of confidence. Brands like Muji and American Apparel show us that there is definitely a market in today’s consumer society for anti-brands, but that once they expand to a certain size they will need a certain level of ‘recognisability’.

Conclusions The logo was born to show trademark status for credibility and to keep cost down to a minimum for an expanding business. It still serves those purposes: seeing a repeated logo makes chief executives breathe a sigh of relief, but nowadays branding and PR take a much more prominent role in a product’s advertising. In my opinion, a decent graphic designer must be more than just a visual marksman. Perhaps as little as 30 years ago, you could be just a logo designer. Not anymore, those jobs are rare and clients want more ‘bang for their buck’. You need to be able to personify the brand. You need to think like a brand manager or identity design consultancy. The research in this study argues that logos are not the key to a successful brand identity. A good logo implemented clumsily will still communicate, but it won’t be subtle. A shockingly bad logo with a strong brand campaign behind it may not necessarily damage the brand itself, but you might find people judge you too easily. Steve McCallion, executive creative director at design and innovation consultancy Ziba Design, wrote only this month: ‘No one really cares about the logo anymore. Today, people are more interested in what a brand can do for them… Social platforms (where there is actual interaction and the ability to create real value for people) are more important than a static, control-heavy logo.’ (McCallion, FastCoDesign.com, 2010)

Ultimately, people write books about ‘the rules of logo design’ every year, but it’s simply not a precise science. Each brief needs to be looked at individually under special circumstances. Cultural and sociological changes are constant and branding should reflect that. Our visual language changes as every new logo or design is produced. As Bob Gill said in New York this year, a creative director or designer with a certain style is like a mathematician saying “I like the number 158”. Briefs need to be approached without preconceptions and you shouldn’t know what the solution is until you’ve worked out what the problem is and solved it. (Gill, 2010) Logos are not dead, far from it in fact. They are simply in a transition period. When you realise humans have been able to manipulate shape since the Stone Age, you can understand how our visual language has had such a long time to develop. However, the concept of recorded media is relatively brand new in comparison. The phonograph was only invented in 1877 with the concept of the motion picture only widely adopted in the following decade. The concept of a logo in motion has not yet been mastered and with the more recent inventions of the computer and then the Internet changing the way we live our lives, so much is still unknown. The possibilities for a logo to be designed as an interactive, rich-media icon currently seem endless. As a creative in my final year studying Motion Graphic Design I feel I am in the right place, at the right time. The news? ‘Graphic Design’ is now ‘Communication Design’. (beyondgraphic.org/, 2003)

Appendix A Interview with Felicity Wade (29/11/10) Question 1: When you came to Ravensbourne, I remember you said, "you can never underestimate the subliminality of a logo". Do you think this applies to all sizes and scales of branding? Plus, do you think logos are often underestimated? Answer 1: Yes I believe it applies to all types of branding, logos, colours, whatever. There is always a hidden agenda in the use of logos and branding which has to be consistent or the customer wont get it. Purple, for example, makes me think of Cadburys. This means that purple is often used in supermarket own brand chocolate packaging to make subliminal associations. I believe logos are underestimated. When I was at Mothercare the lobby of the head office was re done and I had a look at it as it was being laid out. All the upholstery was in purple rather than the corporate colour of teal, and I made some remark along the lines of â&#x20AC;&#x153;I didn't know we had been taken over by Cadburysâ&#x20AC;? and upset the visual team so much they complained about me to HR. I stood by the comment obviously. To go back to Mothercare they had a clever logo of an M with a little figure inside all thro the 60s and 70s which was ditched in (I think) the 80s (maybe early 90s) and replaced with a more modern (?) logo of the word in a lozenge. However in any focus group as late

as the mid 2000s, which asked customers to give impressions of the brand, they always sketched that logo. This was relaunched as the trademark & logo in 2007, with a brilliant tweak by Pentagram (the little figure looked like an adult, they changed to proportion and gave it a big head which makes it into a toddler). Look at the outrage of Gap customers recently when Gap attempted to redesign its trademark? The company backed down.

Question 2: In the US and UK, more money is now spent on PR and marketing than on graphic design. Why do you think this has happened and is it a good thing? Answer 2: Marketing is extremely important in that it tells the customer what you are doing, and a lot of the costs will be because its so expensive, on prime time TV for example. In addition, marketing is ongoing; therefore the costs may be greater. Graphic design can be a one off capital cost reestablishing a logo or trademark, then marketing pick it up and run with it. So a major investment should be made in the graphic, then the marketing - in that order. Pentagram is an example of a superb design agency - they have been going since the 60s, they did the V&A, Biba logos and loads of other ones. They cost a lot (and why not) but what you get is a superb logo that can be used for as long as you like. This is then money well spent. The importance of graphic design should never be underestimated, once a logo is selected it canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t really be changed - it can be used and evolved but not changed too much or customers get confused. 39

To save money on the graphic means that money spent on the marketing may be in vain.

Question 3: Do designers obsess obscenely over the details of mark making and logos, or is it really that powerful a tool within branding? Answer 3: Yes they do, but why not? Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s SO important to the brand identity and the subsequent marketing. Alfa Romeo, with the cloverleaf idea, and how itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reflected in the design of the front grill - fabulous. (Pity the actual quality of the car doesn't have the same attention to detail - I feel quite strongly about this having had one!)

Question 4: The London 2012 logo caused an immediate public outcry when it was first released. Do you think that logos are an easy target for a media backlash?

Answer 4: It is a weak logo (in my opinion). However this country has a knee jerk reaction to anything perceived as 'modern' - look at the outcry over any modern buildings that are planned, or the annual hysteria over the Turner prize nominees, or the patronising of fashion designers even though the contribution to the economy can be significant.

There is a culture of sneering at design and art in the UK, which doesn't seem to exist in Italy, France or indeed anywhere else in the world. This is odd in that we produce the best designers in the world, and they make lots of money for the businesses they are involved with. I wonder if it is a hangover of the Industrial revolution, if “it’s not serious enough”. As though heavy engineering has somehow been built into the national psyche.

Question 5: Do you think it's possible to have a strong brand without a logo? Answer 5: Interesting idea but I can't think of one. Muji started as a brand called 'no name' and was supposed to be along those lines - but I suppose that the name in the particular font used becomes a logo. It’s so much easier to remember a picture or visual reference than just the word.

Appendix B Survey conducted in London with randomly selected general public. (27th â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 30th November 2010) Case Study One:

Case Study Two:

Case Study Three:

Case Study Four:

Case Study Five:

Questions: Q1: Do you recognise this logo? Q2: Sum it up in 3 words? (Note if there is eye contact on logo) Q3: How many of the 3 do you think were inspired by other things than the logo? E.g. reputation, advertising, etc. Q4. (Announce brand.) How good do you think this logo is out of 10?

Results:

Appendix C Survey conducted in Ravensbourne, London. (10/12/10) Questions: Q1. Did you like the new Ravensbourne logo when it was first released? Q2. Would you say your feelings towards it have improved or worsened since we have moved into the new building and have seen the whole brand unveiled? Q3. Do you think it would improve the Ravensbourne brand identity to not have a logo at all? Results:

93% disliked the logo initially. 80% felt the overall brand improved their opinions on the logo. 66% thought that no logo would be an improvement.

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Lectures: Gill, Bob. Logo designer. Talking at The Design Experience, New York. (17/03/10) McCallum, Graham. Creative director from Kemistry. Talking at Ravensbourne, UK. (06/05/10) Interviews: Wade, Felicity. Owner of Wade Design Network. 5 December 2010. Felicity has 34 years experience working in branding and oversaw Mothercareâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s recent re-brand as Head of Design from 2000 to 2008. Exhibitions: The Museum of Brands, Packaging & Advertising. London, UK. (30/11/10)

Progress Map My progress map shows the progression of my idea from initial inspiration to final conclusions. Like many of my opinions, I discovered my topic out of anger and passion. I could rant about logos 12 months ago, but my arguments would be purely opinions without evidence. Sometimes I’ve felt frustrated that I couldn’t make an impact on the world, many issues just seem too big to comprehend. But researching and writing this dissertation has been a journey for me, looking back I’ve realised why I formed certain opinions, whilst inspirations and influences have come from many unexpected sources. This has turned out to be the best way for me to work: collecting statements and arguments and letting them brew in my head. I always aim to allow myself to be influenced by anything and from any angle. Using hindsight and recognising the unconscious learning has helped me to take an objective view. Plus it meant I continued to enjoy the subject over a long time period. I don’t believe distractions are a negative thing and because I planned for procrastination all along I have managed to keep control. I have been immersed in the world of my subject so in a way I’ve never stopped thinking about my lead question and it’s potential.