It's not very inventive to quote Shakespeare as he is probably the most quoted person inthe history of the English language. Nevertheless one can not always be creative. So heregoes, here's what Bill once said, " a rose by any other name would smell as sweet"
Don't worry I'm not about go on a horticultural detour about roses. The "rose" quote isonly used to pose the question: would a company with a different logo still be the samecompany?
If for example coke were to change just the colour of its logo eg. Coke, Coke, Coke, Coke then Coke, the drink itself would still obviously taste the same (even if the colour of the drink were changed the drink itself would probably taste the same but that is a different story alltogether). The point is not that the the taste (the product) remains the same if the logo changes (even a little) but that the consumers experience of the entire coke brand and therefore of the drink itself changes.
An experience not just a product
What if for example an individual has a strong even neurotic aversion to green. Thethought of drinking coke from a can on which "Coke" is written in green may bring abouta panic atack or envoke a psychotic episode. This is an extreme example and marketers should not be dictated to by a mentally unstable minority. Nevertheless this example serves to illustrate the impact a change in logo can have on the experience of the brand. This is particularly important when your product is very similar if not the same as other products. Then you are selling an image and idea or an experience rather than just the product. This is where visual attractiveness of the Logo becomes important.
Visual Attractiveness
Obviously visual attractiveness is something that is subjective. As with people so to withlogos and as with everything you cannot please everybody. Yet, as with people there is ageneral “type” to which most people are probably attracted to. With people the generaltype to which other people are most visually attracted to is reflected in the mediaparticularly within Hollywood. It could be argued that people are not naturally attracted to“Brad Pitts, Angelina Jolies, Michelle Pfeifers, kylie Minogues etc. of this world but that this type of stereotypical attractiveness has only become “attractive” because the media has proclaimed it as such. This is besides the point. The point is that logos, representing brands should be attractive.
The above may seem obvious but one only has to look around to see that attractiveness of logos is often ignored. I can’t think of a good example now but I’m sure you can.
Logos and Brand Personality
Should a logo suit the personality of a brand? Yes, it probably should. If a brand has apersonality/image of old-world quality then surely this should be reflected in its logo. Theelegant font used for the Pringle logo is an example of a logo matching the brandspersonality. It would probably be silly for a company that arranges tours for the retired touse a funky, virbrant font in its logo - unless they were trying to excite the elderly into taking a holiday.
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