1. Logo Development

2. Logos and Their Meaning
1. Emerges from insight into the essence of an
organization: what it stands for now & in the future.

3. Coca Cola – redesign
Goal was to make coke feel happy, fresh & honest again.
They tried to concentrate on elements that made coke
unique: the white script on a red bkgr, the contoured bottle
and the dynamic ribbon.
The new design is bold, contemporary and simple. It works
in different environments and media. The result: new
design is relevant to young generation, helped to re
connect with people who grew up with the brand +
increased sales.

4. Logos and Their Meaning
2. Grasping the meaning of a logo is rarely immediate. Ex: American flag.
Designers need to articulate the big idea behind a mark. Then the company needs to seize every opportunity to share larger meaning as a way of building the culture and the brand.

5. Logos and Their Meaning
Meaning needs time to evolve. It usually becomes amplified over time as the company and its culture become stronger.
Ex: Hewlett and Packard Company

6. HP Company History
Was founded in 1939 by 2 inventors in a wooden garage in Palo
Alto, CA. 70 years later, HP is the 14th largest company in the world
How did they do it?
Developed a program to drive marketing excellence
Shared best practices across regions
Recognized and motivated high achievement
Turned successful projects into learning materials
Promoted the brand name consistently (slogan: invent)

7. The Power of Symbols Diagrammatic icons are simple representations
of the structure of the subject matter.
Ex: The Spark logo

8. The Power of Symbols
2. Metaphoric icons are based on conceptual relationships.

9. The Power of Symbols Symbolic icons are abstract images that have no
clear relationship to the subject. Shape signifies
energy, light, etc. It acquires meaning only with its
relationship to Pabst City.

10. The Power of Symbols Ex: The Spark logo
The process of thinking is conveyed by the * mark.
Ex: Talent Agency
A hat communicates trust, honesty, and old-fashioned
values. It can also be a reference to the phrase: “we wear
many hats” (functioning in more than 1 capacity).
Ex: Pabst City (Renovation project in Milwaukee. An old
brewery is converted into a new apartment complex)
Sun rays or the sun can be symbolic of hope, radiant new
energy, renovation and recovery.

11. How do we construct meaning?
When we deconstruct how memory is made, we
find that there are 4 critical attributes of the process:
Shape
Color
Historical Continuity
Learned Response

12. The sequence of cognition
The brain acknowledges and remembers shapes first. Visual
images can be recognized directly, while words must be
decoded into meaning.
H&R BLOCK

13. Shape
Reading is not necessary to identify shapes. But identifying
shapes is necessary to read.
Color
It can trigger an emotion or evoke a brand association.
Kodak and Tiffani have trademarked their core brand colors.
Form
The brain takes more time to process language, so content
is 3rd in the sequence behind shape and color.

14. Shape & Color
Color is the 2nd in the sequence. All our visual recognitions
are based on this. Is something square and blue, etc.?

15. Implied Shapes Logos do not have to be contained within shapes. The
overall form of a logo should comprise a shape. This is
achieved by letterforms and icon being constrained
within a shape. Alternatively, the letterforms and icon
can create an implied shape.

16. Can You Recognize the brand?

17. Gestalt Principles and Logo Design

18. The Gestalt School of Psychology
Was formed in 1912 in Germany
Investigated how we see and organize visual info into a meaningful whole
The conviction developed that a whole is greater than the sum of its parts
Ex #1: WHOLE

19. Eye seeks a unified whole or gestalt
Knowing how the eye seeks a gestalt can help you analyze
and create successful designs.
Ex #2: “Human Flowers” series

20. Gestalt Principles: Similarity Proximity Continuation Closure
Figure/Ground

21. Similarity When we see similar things we naturally group them together
Grouping by similarity occurs when we see similar shape, size, color, angle or value

22. Proximity
Grouping by similarity in spatial location is called proximity.
The closer the two elements are, the more likely we will
see them as a group.

23. Continuation The viewer’s eye always follows along a line or curve.
Continuation occurs when the eye is carried smoothly into
a line or curve that links adjoining objects.

24. Closure Familiar shapes are more readily seen as complete than
incomplete. When the eye completes a line or curve to
form a familiar shape, closure has occurred.

25. Figure and Ground
The eye and mind separate an object (figure) from its
surroundings (ground). Often the relationship between figure
and ground is dynamic and ambiguous, offering more than
1 solution to the searching eye.