A logo is the most compelling symbol of a brand. This is because an image or single word can communicate values that thousands of written words could only hope to convey.
In fact, a brand’s logo and its associated colors improve brand recognition by up to 80%. That’s why understanding the psychology behind successful logo design and how it affects customer behavior is vital.
With so many possible design choices, creating a logo that positively impacts your target audience and conveys the right emotions and messages can feel overwhelming at first.
So, what exactly should you know when using psychology to influence logo creation? You need to learn how to utilize the psychology of color, font, shape, and composition in logo design. Also, you need to know how to influence brand awareness and purchasing behavior.
Understand How Colors, Fonts, Shape, and Composition Affect Logo Perceptions
The psychology of logo colors
Certain colors can stimulate specific emotions and convey different concepts. This is referred to as color psychology or the meaning of colors. The colors you use in your logo will reflect your company, express its values, and strengthen your brand identity.
You can make better design decisions if you grasp the subtleties and implications color has in regard to how people perceive your logo, and hence your brand.
Researchers from the University of Missouri, for example, have found that the specific colors used in a company’s logo have a significant impact on how people feel about that logo and the brand as a whole.
According to the study:
- Blue logos evoke feelings of confidence, success, and dependability
- Green logos encourage feelings of environmental friendliness, toughness, durability, masculinity, and sustainability
- Purple logos evoke feelings of femininity, glamor, and charm
- Pink logos stimulate feelings of youth, imagination, and fashion
- Yellow logos elicit feelings of fun and modernity
- Red logos cause feelings of expertise and self-assurance
Colors don’t have to be vibrant to have a psychological effect on humans. Take the color black, for example, which conveys protection, power, elegance, and sophistication, or white, which represents cleanliness, purity, innocence, and perfection. Companies may also use gray to signify practicality, brown to symbolize reliability, or gold to portray luxury and elegance.
The psychology of logo shapes
Logo design also takes advantage of shapes to influence the thoughts and opinions of customers, while successfully communicating certain messages about a company. In fact, consumer research validates that logo shapes may determine how consumers perceive your brand’s beliefs, products, and services. Circles, squares, triangles, and vertical and horizontal lines, for example, all communicate different meanings that logo designers must understand and use when creating logos.
Circles
Many of the world’s most recognizable brands include circles in their logos, such as Starbucks, General Electric, and Pepsi. This is due to their ability to communicate a variety of positive emotional messages, as well as the fact that their shape is softer and more welcoming than the sharper angles of triangles and squares.
Additionally, circles are consistent and sturdy, with no breaks or bends, making them a symbol of strength and stability. When used in a logo, circles can help your company appear more trustworthy. Due to its association with marriage and rings, circles are also related to the concepts of unity and commitment, thus allowing them to form a stronger bond with the consumer.
One recognizable company with a circular logo shape is Target. The logo uses two concentric red circles that form a bullseye to reflect its name, making consumers more likely to recognize the brand at a glance. However, the Target bullseye logo conveys another important concept about the brand’s reliability to consumers. The message: whatever you’re seeking, you’ll find it—or hit the bullseye—at Target.
Squares
Squares are another common shape used in logo design, with companies like the Home Depot, Microsoft, and American Express opting for square logo elements. Squares may be used to convey feelings of power, strength, safety, and security. Because some of the most “secure” things in the world, such as a safe, a house, or a vault, are rectangular or square in design, it’s easy to see why humans perceive squares in this way.
Due to their symmetrical, sturdy, and reliable composition, squares are used to communicate values of proportion, balance, and professionalism. For example, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), which uses three solid and strong square shapes, instills a sense of confidence and trust. The squares in the BBC logo also portray the news organization as a reliable, dependable source of information.
Triangles
Triangles can evoke a variety of messages when employed as logo forms, including power, a sense of hierarchy, and motion or improvement. Just three famous brands utilizing triangle logos include Adidas, Mitsubishi Motors, and FILA. Because triangles are pushing in a direction, they contain energy. They may not elicit the same sense of security and familiarity as rectangles or squares, but they can help you demonstrate your brand’s ingenuity and innovation.
Take the logo for construction equipment manufacturer Caterpillar, for example. The company’s logo features a triangular shape that contains strong, bold edges and conveys a sense of power and masculinity. Its angles are pointing upwards too, to indicate positive direction or motion.
Lines
The way lines in a logo are presented can influence how a brand’s audience perceives it. Vertical lines, for example, are compelling, and they evoke a subconscious sense of strength and elegance. Like squares and rectangles, they also convey professionalism while expressing a concept of movement.
One example of a company that uses vertical lines in its logo is SoundCloud. The logo conveys both strength and imagination by blending strong vertical lines with the curves of a cloud. Technology company Cisco also uses vertical lines within its logo to convey forward-thinking, versatility, and boldness.
Horizontal lines, on the other hand, provide a feeling of calm, stability, and serenity. When utilized in logo design, they’re very distinct from vertical lines, and they can encourage consumers to feel safe and secure.
A great example is the IBM logo, which uses horizontal lines to calm the senses, while the color blue in the logo contributes to the overall notion of reliability and trustworthiness. Logistics company DHL also uses horizontal lines within its logo to reinforce its swift speed and reliable services.
The psychology of logo fonts
Some logos will also incorporate text into their symbol, or feature text entirely on its own. The fonts used within these logos aren’t coincidental or chosen simply because they look attractive. Instead, fonts used within a logo design must be reflective of a brand’s values while instantly conveying a company’s intended message.
People have particular thoughts and emotions that they associate with specific colors, and the same can be said for font psychology. Serif typefaces convey a feeling of heritage and respectability, which is why brands such as VOGUE and Rolex utilize them within their logo. Sans serif fonts are clean and welcoming and these values are conveyed in the logos of Google, Netflix, and Microsoft.
A script font can portray the elegance of handwriting. That’s why a script font is ideal for the logo of greeting cards company Hallmark, for example. Finally, contemporary display fonts can have a bold and energetic feel, making them an optimal choice for brands such as Disney, SEGA, and Baskin-Robbins.
The psychology of composition
Shapes, lines, and colors are the foundation of an effective logo design. However, how those components are assembled also influences how the logo is perceived and the message it communicates to consumers.
Scattered or uneven placement, for example, conveys playfulness, disorder, or defiance. By contrast, orderly and symmetrical designs convey formality, stability, and obedience.
Layering elements together establishes visual connections. Therefore logo designers must be conscious of how shapes and lines are integrated. Furthermore, the size of components in a logo design indicates priority. The larger a component, the more attention it attracts and the more significant it seems.
The logo for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) provides a great example of effective composition. The word NASA is prominent within the middle of the design in large white letters. Its circular shape represents a planet, the stars represent space, the red v-shaped wing represents aeronautics, and the circular orbit around the agency’s name represents space travel.
Each of these elements is perfectly centered to create harmony and balance, yet NASA is what stands out the most due to its larger size. The contrasting red color of the v-shape highlights what the brand is best known for—aeronautics—while the circular orbit intersects the brand name to draw attention to the ‘A’ and ‘S’—further emphasizing ‘Aeronautics’ and ‘Space’.
Logo design affect consumer behavior
As we examined in the previous section, all aspects of a logo’s design, including its colors, fonts, and shapes, are capable of symbolizing ideas and expressing moods to the consumer. While it’s evident that a logo affects the consumer, let’s take a closer look at exactly how—and why—this happens.
You can understand the ways a logo affects consumers by getting familiar with three psychological concepts: symbolism, differentiation, and priming.
Symbolism
Logos leverage strategic symbols to convey a direct message. Symbols are frequently present in our collective awareness. Take a heart symbol, for example, which we intuitively understand to represent love and relationships. Additionally, arrows portray movement and direction, while stars can signify religion, patriotism, or fame.
These abstract symbols are simplified shapes that express a basic concept. Symbols are frequently relied upon as a visual language as they have clear, universal meanings that transcend cultural and language barriers. Regardless of whether they appear as specific shapes, images, or text, symbols have a profound psychological effect on consumers.
Differentiation
Product differentiation refers to marketing efforts that cause a consumer to distinguish one brand from another. This occurs when a customer associates emotional feelings with a brand that separates it from others.
Ultimately, Logos distinguish a brand from its competitors, with the goal of attaching emotional value to that brand in comparison to others.
Take airline companies QANTAS and Emirates, for example. Despite both using the color red in their logos to symbolize the speed, action, and power associated with air travel, each brand utilizes symbols relating to their origin to set themselves apart. Emirates includes its brand name in Arabic calligraphy, while QANTAS’s kangaroo symbol signifies it is Australian.
Priming
Particular words, images, and even noises may “prime” the brain to expect certain things. This is how a logo design evokes a particular thought or action. When you see a familiar logo, your mind automatically connects it to the past thoughts, feelings, and experiences you’ve had with that brand. This can influence people’s decision-making to not only pick a brand once, but to become loyal to it.
A study conducted with the Apple logo further proves this. Researchers showed people an Apple logo that was too fast for them to see, then put them through a creative test. These participants did better than others who were shown an IBM logo—a logo not commonly associated with creativity.
At the time of the trial, Apple had recently finished a successful campaign featuring dozens of creative individuals and the tagline “Think Different.” The Apple brand has become associated with the concept of creativity, thanks in part to this marketing. When test subjects were shown that logo design, they were primed to think more creatively.
Logos affect purchase decisions
While some may argue that price is the only element influencing these decisions, this is not typically the case. Emotional factors, including familiarity, brand loyalty, self-identification, social identity, and status, are other key players in buying decisions.
In fact, consumers often use emotions, especially personal feelings and experiences, to evaluate brands, rather than relying solely on information like product qualities, features, or benefits. This happens because the consumers identify the same kind of personality traits in brands as they do in other people.
As a result, a brand’s identity must explain exactly who they are and what they represent to prospective customers. Your logo needs to sum up your brand message and personality so that people can know what you stand for at a glance. That’s why creating a logo is one of the most vital components of your brand identity and why you must take a thoughtful, professional approach to logo design.
Psychology Holds the Key to a Successful Logo
The success of any logo is ultimately defined not just by the quality of its design but also by how people interpret it. To influence the customer on a psychological or subconscious level, a logo must be relevant, meaningful, and target the appropriate audience. Through understanding the psychology of color, font, shape, and composition in logo design, you can create a signature logo that speaks volumes about your company.
Fortunately, creating the ideal logo that utilizes consumer psychology doesn’t have to be difficult. Logo Maker is an intuitive tool that leverages superior artificial intelligence (AI) technology to develop logo ideas that are best suited to your brand—all in a few clicks.
You can get started by inputting a few details about your company and receive dozens of relevant logo options in minutes. After selecting a logo style, you can partner with a designer to customize your logo and make it truly your own. Logo Maker takes the guesswork out of logo creation and empowers you to build a distinctive, attention-grabbing visual identity. Greater brand awareness and more sales can follow.
