Brand Identity – Use of Shapes
Brand Identity – Use of Shapes
Your logo is the face of your brand identity. If you’ve ever seen a person’s face but couldn’t seem to remember his or her name, you’ve experienced part of the phenomenal importance of a logo. Even if a market leader’s business name doesn’t come to mind immediately, its logo will conjure feelings within you. Its appearance turns on an associative, subconscious memory and feelings bubble up.
Familiar faces are everywhere, but familiar names are less common. This is why a logo that embodies your company’s values is so important.
The brain recognises standard geometric shapes without much cognitive effort; and each one bears specific psychological significance. Here’s what shapes say to the psyche:
- Triangles signify aggression, fearlessness, excitement, power, honour, mystery, and positive tension. A triangle also speaks of the satisfaction of needs and effective solutions. This shape doesn’t have a soft side. Instead, it’s extremely intelligent, authoritative, and in-charge.
- Rectangles are logical, certain, unwavering, upright, trustworthy, and orderly. This shape isn’t right for products and services that depend heavily on creativity or ‘thinking outside the box’; however, if reliability and consistency are central to your brand identity, a square or rectangle might be the shape for it.
- Circles and ovals suggest warmth, friendliness, all-inclusiveness, endlessness, security, and completeness. If you’d like to convey the message that your service will not end until all is complete, or that it will keep on going indefinitely, a circle might be right for your logo. Products that never vary or remain constant no matter the application would benefit from a shape other than a circle.
When creating logo shapes, lines and their qualities should be considered. The way you use lines will help to shape the message you send. Here are some ways you can manipulate lines to work for your brand identity:
- Lines beg the eye to follow, so their paths should lead toward what you wish to be focal points.
- Lines don’t have to be solid. Dots, dashes, and tiny shapes can change lines’ implications.
- Attract or divert attention with the use of lines that vary in thickness.
- Lines create barriers, if you need them.
- Lines can make associations by connecting images to one another.
- Flowing, curvaceous lines are natural, open, elastic, and give feelings of creative elegance.
- Sharp edges and points in lines are crisp, formal, technical, and even mathematical.
If you want to be a market leader, you must design a logo (or have one designed) that is memorable and significant. On a typical day, a consumer can be bombarded with more than 60,000 different brand identities. If your logo is indicative of your brand, and your brand’s reputation is notable enough to cement that logo in the minds of consumers, then the face of your business (your logo) holds the potential to be unforgettable.
Designing a logo to represent your brand identity involves much more than drawing a pretty picture.
For support with your logo design or corporate identity, or simply for more information, call 01904 430 666 or get it touch via the contact us page.