Colour and meaning in corporate logos

Corporate visual identity helps establish and maintain a company ’ s corporate image, of which the colour and design of a company ’ s logo is central. This study examines the triadic relationship between colour, design and the evoked meanings of logos to understand how these contribute to building a consistent corporate image. Results strongly indicate that consumers make clear judgements about the image of a fi rm from the logo design and have strong opinions about which colours are appropriate for different corporate images.

Niki Hynes

Department of Marketing,

University of Strathclyde,

Glasgow G4 0RQ,

UK

Tel: + 1 0141 548 3193

E-mail: niki.hynes@strath.ac.uk

Colour is sometimes referred to as the ‘ silent salesperson ’ as it exerts persuasive power at a subliminal level 3 This idea can

be easily illustrated: an image shown in vivid reds and oranges gives a completely different feel and meaning from the same image shown in pale blues and greens This study therefore addresses the need to examine how people perceive the colour, design and meaning of logos to examine how these interlink to and affect the iden-tity of the organisation, 4 – 6 a topic which

to date has received little attention 7 This study uses a two-stage experimental design

to capture if consumers are able to match logo shapes to particular meanings (words) and secondly to determine whether respondents when presented with a logo and mission statement can identify a colour which best conveys this meaning

BACKGROUND

The logo acts as a badge of identifi cation, 8

as a mark of quality 9 and as a way to

INTRODUCTION

The corporate identity of a fi rm is strate-gically important in differentiating com-panies and helps to establish customer loyalty Of the elements which help to establish this, corporate visual identity (CVI) includes all visual aspects of the fi rm including buildings, products, uniforms of staff, paperwork and the corporate logo 1,2 The corporate logo has various elements

of design which are important including the shape, image, style and size, as well as the colour(s) used Logos add value by stakeholders seeing and remembering the logo (recognition) but to be effective, the logo must serve as a signature of the company, by clearly linking the shape, design or colour to the organisation

it represents The most easily recalled logos usually have a unique shape (Nike, Apple, Chanel, Microsoft, etc) Some go further to associate strongly with a par-ticular colour as well — Coca Cola (red), Chanel (black), McDonalds (golden yellow

on red)

Received (in revised form): 15th February, 2008

NIKI HYNES

is Lecturer in Marketing at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow She has received degrees from the University of London, The University of Edinburgh and Lincoln University in New Zealand Her present research interests include marketing in high technology fi rms, market and technological orientation, strategic alliances and corporate identity,

and she has published in International Journal of Technology Marketing and International Journal of Technology Management

Abstract

Corporate visual identity helps establish and maintain a company ’ s corporate image, of which the colour and design of a company ’ s logo is central This study examines the triadic relationship between colour, design and the evoked meanings of logos to understand how these contribute to building a consistent corporate image Results strongly indicate that consumers make clear judgements about the image of a fi rm from the logo design and have strong opinions about which colours are appropriate for different corporate images

Journal of Brand Management (2009) 16, 545 – 555 doi: 10.1057/bm.2008.5;

published online 18 July 2008

Keywords

corporate visual identity ;

logos ; colour ; design

Keywords

corporate visual identity ;

logos ; colour ; design

increase a company ’ s reputation 9,10 In addition, if managed correctly, it may serve to create competitive advantage 1 and simplify the task of formal corporate communications 9 The company ’ s name, logo, typeface and colour scheme are typically considered to be the main components of CVI 4,11,12

Van Riel and Van den Ban 1 distinguish between the intrinsic properties of logos (that is the degree of ‘ representativeness ’

of the logo) and extrinsic properties

Extrinsic properties are those originating from associations with the company This

is easily illustrated in the example of Nike which in design terms has strong referen-tial elements — the swoosh representing movement; this has a low representative-ness but high extrinsic values making the distinctive logo The power of extrinsic properties is high; the degree of realism in the design is inversely related to the ability

to attribute additional meanings 4 but little research has examined whether illustrative

or abstract designs are more appropriate

to particular organisations

Logo colour is also very important due

to its mnemonic quality in the areas of recognition and recall 4,13 Colour may play a role in imparting information, creating lasting identity and suggesting imagery and symbolic value 4,13 Dowling 8 notes that colour is often an afterthought, left to the designer ’ s or corporate man-ager ’ s whim and is often decided upon without any consideration of its psycho-logical and strategic uses Although the importance of colour in CVI has received little or no academic attention, there is substantial research outside the marketing

fi eld which shows the importance of colour in recognition and recall and more importantly, the idea that colour being used to elicit different emotional responses 9 Three main schools of complementary thought exist on the meaning of colours:

chromodynamics, the ‘ temperature ’ of colour and direct cultural effects It is thought that colours may carry emotional and neurophysiological values and may affect levels of excitation and cognitive stimulation 4 The Pantone Company 14 ( www.pantone.com ) and others 7,15 report that colours have a direct, physiological effect, for example, red can raise blood pressure and appetite, an effect known as ‘ chromodynamics ’ This effect is closely linked to the ‘ temperature classifi cation ’ of colours, stemming from nature 15 – 17 Birren 18 suggests that the excitation level

of colour is directly linked to the ‘ tem-perature ’ of the colour, where the warm colours including red, yellow and orange may mentally stimulate and can create excitement or even anger 4 The cool col-ours are thought to have a calming effect due to their relatively low excitation level and are often associated with restfulness, nurturing and peace This idea of a tem-perature of colour is used commonly in the popular press and in interior design; however, the theory of chromodynamics has been heavily criticised because it is diffi cult to distinguish between cultural and natural associations of colours For example, red may raise blood pressure because it is the colour of blood, and it may also serve as an appetite-stimulant as

it is a common colour in existing foods 17 Culture can also affect the meaning of colour Examples of this effect are, for example street / road signs which need to convey messages clearly in less time than

it would take to read and digest a descrip-tion of its meaning 17 In this context, some, but not all colours have precise and direct connotations (eg red means stop and green means go), which may serve as evi-dence to support Dowling ’ s 8 earlier claim

of faster recognition through colour than shape or form Instant recognition through colour can potentially be very useful in

commercial applications such as product

packaging, where consumers speeding down

supermarket aisles rely on colour to

distin-guish between brands 3 In addition, despite

some limited and well-known cultural

differences in colour (red for good luck in

China, etc), there are more commonalities

in colour meaning across cultures than

differences supporting chromodynamics

theory, or through nature Some fi rms use

the power of colour in their design, for

example, the appetite-stimulating red of

McDonalds or the environmentally friendly

green of BP As Fraser and Banks 17 (p 12)

state, ‘ it is no coincidence that the strongest

use of colour is often found where someone

is trying to sell you something ’ In summary,

logos are one of the most powerful elements

in establishing a CVI Colour and design are

two of the major aspects of the logo ’ s

char-acteristics and the importance of selecting

both an appropriate design and an

appro-priate colour both for the design and for

the company image is therefore very high,

yet one which has received little academic

attention

METHODOLOGY

In order to overcome some of the diffi

cul-ties in separating the associations between

corporate identity, logo design and colour,

an experimental and exploratory

method-ology was used It is impossible to show a

logo without using colour since black and

white have associated meanings Therefore,

this experimental study took a two-stage

approach where respondents were asked

fi rstly to select three words from a given

list which best described the company

depicted by a black and white logo fi

cti-tious and unknown logo They were then

given a description of a fi ctitious company

for each logo (which incorporated three

of the words used on the list already

asso-ciated with the logo), shown the logo in

eight different colours and asked to select which colour best suits the logo The ten words used to describe each logo were derived from the research on colour theory and associated with the eight colours This experimental study therefore tested two elements of the meaning — design — colour triadic relationship of logos

Respondents were selected in two waves of data collection The fi rst was a random street intercept in Scotland In the second wave of data collection, an online survey was run with a selection of online MBA students In each case, respondents were pre-qualifi ed by checking for colour blindness, age (between 18 and 60) and for cultural background — all had lived or worked in the UK for a number of years The use of an online survey brings advan-tages in terms of randomising the repre-sentation of words and colours, but also has associated problems with portrayal of the colour images The colours were delib-erately scrambled to avoid the deduction

of any meaningful order (such as from warm to cold) and to ensure equal chance

of each colour to be chosen Eight dif-ferent colours were selected for use in this study including blue, red, yellow, green, purple, and orange, pink and brown

RESULTS

The results are described below; each of the eight logos is presented followed

by the words chosen by respondents to represent the meaning of the logo The mission statement given to respondents to create a company image is then presented, followed by a summary of preferred colour choice for this combination of words and logo design The fi nal column shows signifi cant correlations between colours and words, and the direction of this correlation Words supported by colour theory are shown in italics

House Total % Colour

correlation

Homely 272 82.2 Brown ( − ) Dependable 133 40.2 Blue ( − ), Green ( + ) ,

Orange (+) Warm 144 43.5 Red ( + ), Blue ( − )

Trustworthy 112 33.8 Reliable 89 26.9 Green ( + )

Thoughtful 46 13.9 Red (+) Imaginative 43 13.0 Red (+) Healthy 34 10.3 Dynamic 25 7.6 Refreshing 19 5.7 Yellow (+)

The representative nature of this logo is echoed in the selected words: ‘ homely ’ , ‘ warm ’ and ‘ dependable ’ ‘ Trustworthy ’ and ‘ reliable ’ also scored highly These are all words asso-ciated with earthy colours such as brown or blue The meaning of this representative logo

is therefore a useful metaphor for a company ’ s identity where it seeks to establish itself as a dependable warm builder It would not suit more innovative or commercial builders

Mission : ‘ This company is a long

estab-lished house-builder who wants to be seen as dependable, trustworthy and reli-able Which colour best suits the logo for this organisation? ’

The company ’ s description used words associated with blue and / or brown, and the overwhelming majority (65 per cent)

of respondents chose either brown or blue The choice of colour may have been com-plicated by the fact that most houses have some degree of brown colour on them House is a representative logo for which respondents had clear ideas about the meaning of the design, which matched well to the colour choice The match between mission statement and colour choice is also broadly present (blue being the ‘ correct answer ’ and the second most commonly chosen colour) but with brown

as a logical choice for both desired meaning and inferred meaning For this representative design, yellow (refreshing), green (reliable) and red (warm) were signifi cantly related to meanings predicted

by colour theory, but not selected as the best colour for this company ’ s logo

Globe Total % Colour

correlations

Protective 196 59.2 Stability 192 58.0 Pink ( − )

Reliable 127 38.4 Red (+), Purple (+) Imaginative 108 32.6 Yellow ( + )

Renewal 109 32.9 Orange (+) Thoughtful 89 26.9 Playful 46 13.9 Yellow ( + )

Healthy 23 6.9 Passionate 20 6.0 Homely 10 3.0

This representative logo apparently had two groups of meanings: ‘ protective ’ and ‘ stability ’ being chosen by over half of all respondents The second grouping included ‘ reliable ’ , ‘ imaginative ’ and ‘ renewal ’ This was an implicitly representative logo showing a globe with stars, which are arguably stylised from a fl ag — but without any particular inherent meaning

Mission : ‘ This is a logo of a governmental

aid organisation that aims to provide shelter

and temporary housing to disaster relief

victims They want to be seen as being

protective, homely and stable Which

colour best suits the logo for this

organisa-tion? ’

The description of the company used

words normally associated with brown while

respondents overwhelmingly selected blue

(more than 50 per cent) The words chosen

for the design of this logo were also

over-whelmingly blue-associated: ‘ protective ’ and

‘ stable ’ suggesting a strong link between

meaning, design and colour but inconsistent

with the given mission statement

Stylised heart / double clef

Words

Total % Colour

correlation

Passionate 237 71.8

Playful 166 50.3 Purple (+)

Exciting 136 41.2 Orange ( − ), Purple

( + ) , Brown ( − )

Imaginative 90 27.3

Regal 75 22.7

Dynamic 69 20.9 Purple (+)

Energetic 65 19.7 Blue (+), Brown ( − )

Refreshing 39 11.8 Pink (+)

Protective 32 9.7

Reliable 19 5.8

Respondents overwhelmingly chose the word ‘ passionate ’ to describe this implicitly representative logo followed

by ‘ playful ’ and ‘ exciting ’ ‘ Passion ’ and ‘ excitement ’ are usually associated with red, although ‘ playful ’ is more commonly associated with yellow or orange

Mission : ‘ This is the logo for an orchestra

It is passionate about performing at the highest quality, and to be seen as a dynamic, exciting provider of classical music Which colour best suits the logo for this orchestra? ’

Purple was the most commonly chosen colour, followed by red Red closely matched the selected words although the world ‘ regal ’ is the one most com-monly associated with purple and this was chosen by one-third of all respondents

Purple is rarely seen in nature and for many centuries purple dye was restricted

in its use — in Elizabethan times it could only be legally worn by Royalty, and

as far back as Roman times only the most powerful emperors wore purple

Perhaps because of this it is seen as luxu-rious and it is now commonly used in Cadbury chocolate advertisements which may have changed its associations explaining the correlations between purple and ‘ dynamic ’ , ‘ exciting ’ and ‘ playful ’ which are not supported by traditional colour theory

Bunny

Total % Colour correlation

(only sig values reported) Fun 245 74.2

Imaginative 143 43.3

Energetic 109 33.0 Pink ( − )

Refreshing 112 33.9 Green ( + )

Homely 91 27.6 Purple (+), Green (+) Cheap 75 22.7

Dynamic 69 20.9 Sensual 59 17.9 Reliable 30 9.1 Green ( + )

Healthy 30 9.1 Purple (+)

This logo has few intrinsic qualities although is likely to be associated with children or clothing due to the words included Over 74 per cent of all respond-ents chose the word ‘ fun ’ , followed by a range of other words including ‘ imagina-tive ’ , ‘ energetic ’ , ‘ refreshing ’ Fun is usually associated with orange and yellows, as is imaginative and energetic

Mission : ‘ This company sells children ’ s cotton clothes It wants to be seen as fun and

to be worn by energetic, healthy people Which colour best suits the logo for this company? ’

The bunny logo was designed to com-municate pink, associated with health and energy giving These characteristics are also associated with yellow and clearly most respondents chose pink for this logo, with yellow as second choice Surprising pink and ‘ energetic ’ correlate negatively — the

opposite relationship predicted by theory

Green is associated with the predicted meanings when used in this logo, while

no other colours match their expected meaning in this logo

Kite Words

Total % Colour

correlation

Happy 254 77.0 Yellow ( + ) , Purple ( − )

Cheerful 219 66.4 Red ( − ), Yellow ( + )

Energetic 124 37.6 Green ( − ), Yellow (+) Healthy 98 29.7 Blue ( − ), Yellow (+) Exciting 70 21.2

Refreshing 67 20.3 Green ( − ), Yellow (+) Homely 45 13.6

Imaginative 45 13.6 Dependable 23 7.0 Blue ( − ) Stability 13 3.9

Respondents overwhelmingly chose two words to describe the meaning of this logo:

‘ happy ’ and ‘ cheerful ’ , with ‘ energetic ’ as a third choice These colours would normally

be associated with yellow or orange Yellow was positively correlated with ‘ happy ’ and ‘ cheerful ’ , consistent with colour theory

Mission : ‘ This is the logo of a preschool

nursery which wants to be seen as ener-getic, cheerful and friendly place to leave your children Which colour best suits the logo for this preschool? ’

The colour distribution for this

logo was much wider than the other

logos although the most commonly

chosen colour was yellow, consistent

with both the desired meaning in the

mission statement and the inferred

colour from the respondents Given that

the kite is nonrepresentative of the

company, it is surprising that the colour /

meaning / design links were very clearly

linked

Headphones

Total % Colour

correlation

Playful 178 53.9 Red (+)

Happy 123 37.3 Green (+),

Pink ( − ) Imaginative 112 33.9

Cheap 100 30.3 Red (+)

Exciting 74 22.4

Refreshing 44 13.3

Reliable 35 10.6 Yellow (+)

Stability 29 8.8

Sensual 15 4.5 Red ( − ),

Orange (+)

Respondents overwhelmingly chose

the word ‘ fun ’ to describe this logo with

‘ playful ’ and ‘ happy ’ also highly ranked

These words are consistent with the colours

orange or yellow The colour-meaning

correlations for this logo are all ‘ incorrect ’

yet the meanings and colour choices

are fairly consistent, suggesting that

respon-dents did not make the predicted

connec-tion between the colours in this implicit

illustrative logo

Mission : ‘ This is the logo of a local radio

station which wants to be seen as fun,

playful and bringing happiness to its

listeners Which logo best suits the logo

for this radio station? ’

The ‘ radio ’ label was described with words normally associated with orange, yet the respondents were less able to select the correct colour from the description and most opted for red, with orange as the second highest ranked colour

Feet

Total % Colour

correlation (only sig

values reported)

Stability 191 57.7 Contemplative 143 43.2 Visionary 122 36.9 Red ( − ) ,

Green (+) Trustworthy 120 36.3 Pink ( − )

Truthful 100 30.2 Brown ( + )

Imaginative 66 19.9 Yellow ( − ) Energetic 62 18.7 Green (+) Renewal 53 16.0 Purple (+),

Green (+) Happy 27 8.2 Brown (+) Cheerful 21 6.3

More than half the respondents chose the word ‘ stability ’ to describe this logo, with the words ‘ contemplative ’ , ‘ visionary ’ and ‘ trustworthy ’ and ‘ truthful ’ in a second tier It would seem that the words on the logo have inspired these choices since a pair of footprints is unlikely to evoke such thoughts ‘ Stability ’ and ‘ trustworthiness ’ are traditionally associated with blue or brown while ‘ vision ’ and ‘ contemplative ’ are usually associated with purple

Mission : ‘ This is the logo of a religious

organisation which aims to promote strong visionary values of truth, justice and human rights Which colour best suits the logo for this charity? ’

The feet logo contains the words ‘ justice ’ and ‘ charity ’ although the font was small

Nearly half of all respondents chose brown with blue being the second choice

The word religious was inserted into the mission statement to attempt to get respondents to choose purple which would have been consistent with the values of visionary and contemplation In this logo there appears to be a confl ict between the brown / blue connotations of stability and trust and the connection with con-templative and visionary This logo seems

to have a design consistent with its meaning but inconsistent with the pre-ferred logo colour associated through colour theory

Abstract

Total % Colour

correlation

Prestigious 167 50.5 Green ( − ) Security 164 49.5 Dynamic 155 46.8 Blue (+), Yellow

( − ), Brown ( − )

Prosperity 131 39.6 Orange ( − )

Protective 116 35.0 Blue ( + ) ,

Trustworthy 87 26.3 Purple (+) Regal 72 21.8 Fun 44 13.3 Red ( − ), Blue (+),

Purple (+) Friendly 24 7.3

Half the respondents chose the words ‘ prestigious ’ and ‘ security ’ for this abstract corporate looking logo with ‘ dynamic ’ , ‘ prosperity ’ and ‘ protective ’ also chosen This suggests a strong meaning conveyed by the simple abstract design consistent with a company wanting to evoke values desirable

by a fi nancial institution

Mission : ‘ This is the logo of a bank which

wants to be seen as prestigious They aim to provide a place where your money will

be secure and your investments grow to make you prosperous Which colour best suits the logo for this bank? ’

Total

The wavy lines of the bank ’ s logo were described using colours normally associ-ated with green which has also tradition-ally been associated with money; however, nearly three quarters of all respondents selected the colour blue as being the most appropriate This is consistent with blue being a ‘ corporate ’ colour This abstract logo was clearly identifi ed as a corporate, possibly fi nancial-type logo and strongly associated with corporate blue

SUMMARY OF RESULTS

words

Colour chosen

by respondent (brackets theory-driven colour)

Words given

in mission statement

Colour associated with mission statement

Colour meaning associations correctly made

Homely Dependable Warm

Blue/Brown (blue) Dependable

Trustworthy Reliable

Blue Green, Red

Protective Stability Reliable

Blue/Brown (blue or brown)

Protective Homely Stable

Brown/Blue

Fun Imaginative Energetic

Yellow (yellow or pink)

Fun Energetic Healthy

Pink/yellow

Happy Cheerful

Yellow (yellow) Energetic

Cheerful Friendly

Yellow Yellow

Passionate Playful Exciting

Purple (red) Passionate

Dynamic Exciting

Red Purple,

Brown

Fun Playful Happy

Red (orange) Fun

Playful Happiness

Orange None

Stability Contemplative

Green/Purple (green/purple)

Visionary Truth Justice

Purple Pink, Red

Prestigious Security Dynamic

Blue (Green/Red)

Prestigious Secure Grow

Green Yellow,

Orange, Brown, Blue

In summary, there was a very close match

in terms of the words associated with the

logo by the respondents and the ‘ mission

statements ’ of the organisation suggesting a

close match in design and meaning In

overall terms there was a clear choice of the

cool or hot colour consistent with the

colour theory although individual colours

were often confused: red was chosen in place

of orange, or blue in place of brown The

abstract logo and the feet logo did not show

a close colour match to either the meaning

given or the words chosen by the respond-ents This suggests that abstract logos have strong associations with meaning, but that these meanings are not necessarily refl ected

in the associated colour choices that con-sumers see as appropriate Implicitly illustra-tive logos (those logos which show a known image but out of context such as the kite / bunny / globe and feet) show a much closer link between colour and meaning, and the more representative the logo selected — the closer the links between the expected

meaning of colour and the colour chosen being seen as inferring those qualities on the fi rm through its logo

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

The corporate identity of a fi rm should refl ect its values, mission statement, strategy and characteristics, 6 and the logo design and colour can be a vital aid in this 5,9 The results from this study strongly support the communicative value of colour in expressing that corporate identity, with certain attributes clearly associated with particular logo colours In broad terms these match the attributes published on colour theory

At a basic level, the implied ‘ temperature ’ was always sustained — for example in the headphones logo, the respondents chose red, whereas the closest match in colour theory to meaning would be orange, these two are both ‘ hot ’ colours This implies that matching the temperature of the logo colour is essential to creating a consistent message The results confi rm that where representative logos are suggested, the meaning derived from colour is confi rmed and respondents have clear ideas about suit-able colours Companies wishing to ‘ shock ’ consumers or challenge these preconceived ideas can do so by choosing unusual colours — the house in purple or orange for example An organisation that selects a colour inappropriate to its overall image will send confl icting signals to its audience and would need to make extra efforts to reinforce their corporate identity, while a colour chosen to support corporate image will aid visual recognition and ultimately create competitive advantage Both the design (shape) and the colour of corporate logos therefore demands a strategic approach 19,20 This study has limitations including the sample size, the range of colour choices and omission of black and white as colour

choices Black, white and grey carry strong connotations and associations and are very effective in communicating certain corpo-rate identities Future studies could ask respondents to select from a wider range

of colours including tones and shades of the main colours, or include in-depth qualitative work The relationship between mission statement and colour was not tested in this study but could be incorpo-rated into future research by providing a statement of corporate identity with no logo and asking the respondent which colour best represents this corporation and its identity The range of colours chosen for each logo illustrates the inseparability between the meaning of a colour and the shape, or design of the logo for which it

is used For example, bright-green tree leaves may be associated with health and vitality, but the same colour on human skin suggests opposite connotations 17 Special consideration is therefore due to the synchronisation of colour with the other logo elements: symbol, name and typeface

Finally, this study has shown that the dynamics of the triangle of meaning-colour-corporate identity are complex and diffi cult to separate It is therefore imperative for the success of CVI com-munication that existing meanings and associations of colour, are incorporated with design of shape and style, and not left as an afterthought

References

( 1 ) Van Riel , C and Van den Ban , A ( 2001 ) ‘ The added value of corporate logos: An empirical study ’ , European Journal of Marketing , Vol 35 ,

No 3/4 , pp 428 – 440 ( 2 ) Green , D and Loveluck , V ( 1994 ) ‘ Understanding

a corporate symbol ’ , Applied Cognitive Pyschology ,

Vol 8 , pp 37 – 47 ( 3 ) Eiseman , L ( 2000 ) ‘ The Pantone Guide to Communicating with Colour ’ , Grafi x Press Ltd, New York