How important is the branding of your business?
by Natasha Christou Digital Marketing ConsultantBut of course, in
order for brands to reach that globally recognised status, a badge design must
be effective, powerful, and memorable. Only then can a company’s reputation be
built upon it. In this article, we examine how a brand’s badge or logo design
is mapped out to continually encourage custom.
Above and Beyond
Embellished across its range, from the Land Rover Discovery
Sport to the classic Range
Rover, Land Rover sports one of the most iconic British badges in the
automotive industry. The design is fundamentally classic of a badge — oval
shaped, a simple colour scheme, and no fussy details. Even with the text
removed, many onlookers would recognise the bold green oval of Land Rover. So,
what makes this badge powerful?
Shape analysis:
According to psychological studies, circles and ovals are an
effective way to convey a positive message. The shape elicits a sense of
community, but more subtly, the ‘ring’ element of these shapes can subliminally
convey a message of marriage and all the connotations of that along with it — stability
and endurance. These are certainly elements an automotive company would
want to align themselves with in customers’ eyes, making a circle or oval a
strong choice for badge design. The angular text complements this sense of
stability with its own dynamic look.
Colour analysis:
The strong green of Land Rover’s logo contributes to growth
imagery. This makes sense when you consider the brand’s range of vehicles — how
often is a journey used as imagery for growth? This badge taps into that
often-used metaphor.
Capture and Share the World’s Moments
With one
billion monthly active users and more than 500 million daily users,
Instagram has dominated the branding game. Just like Land Rover, the absence of
the company’s name doesn’t cause the badge to fall into obscurity — few would
fail to recognise the colourful curved edges of Instagram’s simplistic camera
logo, its third iteration.
Shape analysis:
Unveiled in 2016, Instagram’s badge design strength lies in
a combination of two different shape psychologies — circles and squares. With
its rounded corners, the logo taps into the professional-looking sleek edges of
square logos, while the rounded corners soften the impact and play more on
gentler connotation of circles, such as unity and friendship.
The curved edges also give out a more feminine look, which links
to Instagram’s user base history. Back in 2017, 68%
of Instagram’s user base was female. This gap has closed in recent years,
with 51%
of users being female as of 2019. Could Instagram be heading for a logo
redesign soon to reflect this more gender-balanced user base that has developed
for them?
Colour analysis:
The 2016 revamp saw Instagram ditch its rainbow colours and
reduce down to a simpler colour scheme gradient of yellow, red, and purple.
According to colour psychology, yellow fuels a sense of optimism, red for
excitement, and purple inspires creativity and imagination. Certainly a
powerful colour-scheme for the photo-sharing social media platform!
This Is for the Players
Displaying the original PlayStation’s ability to render 3D
graphics, the PlayStation logo features a simple, yet effective design of a
letter ‘P’ casting a shadow in the shape of an ‘S’, creating the illusion of a
3D image.
Shape analysis
Like the Instagram logo, the PlayStation logo combines
features of both the traditional circle-shaped badge and the square. The icon
could easily be bordered by either, and the image itself features dynamic,
sharp lines in the ‘P’ and curved edges in the ‘S’ shadow. The simplistic style
invokes neither masculine nor feminine tones, strengthening the sense that this
games console isn’t stereotypically just “for boys” — it’s “for the players”.
Colour analysis
Again, like Instagram, PlayStation ditched the rainbow
colours of its original logo back in 2009. But instead of switching to a new
spectrum of colours, the logo moved to a solid black typeface. In terms of
marketing, black is seen as a means to convey seriousness. It’s a logical move
for PlayStation: in 2006, competitor Nintendo made waves with its innovative
Wii console, which was marketed primarily around families, casual gaming, and a
sense that games should be a simple enjoyment. The console soared in sales, and
PlayStation responded with a new, grittier approach to its own console: this
console wasn’t for casual gamers, it was for serious players who wanted a
powerful console and complex gaming. The stark black logo did away with the
colourful, perhaps childish look and zoned in on the idea of a sharper look.
The Art of Performance
Compared to Instagram’s colourful sunburst and gentle edges,
the Jaguar logo sits on the other end of the badge design spectrum. The luxury
British brand’s icon certainly brings a sense of longing to many automotive
fans, with the car manufacturer held in high regard when it comes to dream
cars. But how does the badge draw upon a sense of elegance and power to
complement the company slogan — “the art of performance”?
Shape analysis
The graceful leaping jaguar is yet another badge design that
doesn’t need the company’s name to communicate exactly who it represents. The
angle of the creature’s pounce gives the badge an overall triangular shape,
standing out from the far more common circular badge of automotive brands.
Triangular shapes promote a sense of power, science, and masculinity. Coupled
with the image of a lunging jaguar and the effectiveness of this badge design
can’t be ignored.
Colour analysis
Of all the badges analysed in this article, Jaguar’s colour
palette is far more muted and minimal. The neutral tones of white and grey
convey a strong sense of calm and neutrality, in-keeping with the brand’s
elegant image: this is a company that wants to portray a self-assured power
without making a gaudy display of arrogance. Grey
promotes feelings of modest authority, while the highlighting white
promises perfection and simplicity.
The strength of a brand’s badge is quietly powerful.
Recognition and reputation both rest heavily on a good badge design, regardless
of what industry a company stands within.
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Created on Apr 15th 2020 09:25. Viewed 542 times.