Logo colour and differentiation: A new application of environmental colour mapping

Abstract

Creating a logo design is an important task for a new company wishing to gain entry in a particular industry sector. It requires an initial situation analysis that examines existing logos within the sector, and this information is then used to inform creation of a new logo design. Colour, one of a number of design elements used to create a new logo, is a key element in creating a unique logo and in terms of enabling a logo achieve differentiation in a competitive environment. This article discusses the application of the environmental colour mapping process during the initial situation analysis phase of logo design. The process, which has been applied in urban design studies in Japan, America, France, England, and Norway has recently been augmented with the addition of digital technology. Using a case study approach, the 'environment' for the purpose of this study represented the logo designs of organizations within a specific industry sector. The main outcome from the process (colour data presented in the form of a colour map) was examined for patterns of similarity and dissimilarity and an attempt was made to identify new options for logo colours within the sector based on colour differentiation. This study represents a new application of the environmental colour mapping process and a number of limitations and benefits are discussed.

A Comparison of Regulatory Awareness and Green Supply Chain Management Practices Among Chinese and Japanese Manufacturers

“…However, these leading Chinese manufacturers have experienced increasing pressure from domestic environmental regulations/policies to cooperate with domestic customers. With the higher public awareness in Japan (Nakamaru, ), Japanese manufacturers, even small and medium‐sized ones, are proactive to establish environmental images to gain competitiveness through logo programs (O'Connor, ), going beyond regulatory requirements. Thus, neither domestic nor international regulations/policies have an effect on customer cooperation among Japanese manufacturers.…”

Semi‐automatic color analysis for brand logos

“…In the urban design research area color mapping has been used to summarize the visual impression of the environment. 7,8 Zena O'Connor even applied a color mapping approach to brand logos, 9 but she used the Photoshop application to extract colors manually. While such a manual process can be useful to analyze a small number of images, it becomes too labor-intensive when having to analyze hundreds if not thousands of images.…”

Valoración de la eficacia del diseño de marca de las ONG españolas = Assessment of the effectiveness of the Spanish NGOs brand design

“… Comunican la diferenciación y posicionan la oferta (Glastetter y Kleiner, 1989;Miller et al, 2007;Marvin, 2007;Hynes, 2009;O'Connor, 2011).…”