The visual identity is the medium and storyteller to connect the consumers with the brand sensitivity. Among the visual identities, logos play a key role in establishing the company’s image, as well as brand identity. Also, color is one of the various factors that enhance the image of the business and brand. Logos express the company’s symbolic color to emphasize the identity of the company and brand, and help deliver the aesthetic images that the brand wants to express.
This study focuses on the relationship between the shape of the logo and its color perception. A comparative investigation was performed on the globally recognized brands: between the exclusively-colored logos (logos colored with their own symbolic color) and the color-interchanged logos (logos colored with another company’s symbolic color). A survey was performed on the participants’ perception if a logo is colored with the competing company’s symbolic color. The research was done with 70 adult male and female participants, and the analyzed result shows the following.
The first experimental result shows that the participants recognize the exclusively-colored logos and the color-interchanged logos differently. This suggests that the function of the color identity of delivering the sensitivity and information was imprinted on the participants’ perception.
The second experiment on 20 pairs of samples shows the pre-perception rate of color was about 50%, which was equal to the pre-perception rate of shape. Therefore, the interrelation of color on perceiving a logo was as important as the shape. Thus, the importance of color identity was proved. According to the result, consumers acquire a certain amount of information about the company or the brand through colors for a prolonged period.
For the business managers, color is an easier method than shapes to stimulate the consumer sentiment. Therefore, they should pay attention to establishing an exclusive color for the company to differentiate their business from the competitors.
This study is expected to suggest a method to the business managers when establishing or repositioning the brand identity strategies, by arousing the importance of brand color identity.