The document provides information on logo design and colour theory. It discusses research showing colours can evoke certain feelings and emotions. When creating branding, colour is an important tool due to its impact on how people think and behave. Examples are given of how colours are used in famous logos like McDonald's, Amazon, and Starbucks to convey specific messages and feelings to influence consumer perceptions. Local media company logos are also examined, identifying positive and negative aspects to help inform the design of the author's own logo. Key lessons are to aim for simplicity, avoid distracting colour use, and ensure the logo stands out professionally.

1. Logo Research

2. Colour theory in Marketing:
There has been research done into the topic of the psychology of colour and how a certain colour can make people feel certain ways.
Even though it is different for everyone, there are generalised effects that colours have on the general population. When creating
anything that will be considered as branding for your company, colour is an essential tool due to the impact it has on how we think and
behave. For example, Social Media platforms are often known to use the primary colour blue as it is known for creating a feeling of trust
between a company and a consumer. Unlike other colours, blue is a colour which has a more mental reaction on someone rather than a
physical one, it is known to be a colour used to destress and calm down those who look at it however it can also be seen as
cold/unfriendly if used in excess. Moving to a different colour, red is commonly used in fast food companies as it is seen as a powerful
colour however, it can also be used to represent or even to portray fear and survival in things such as horror movies. Red represents
passion, strength and aggression so you must use it sparingly as it can cause a negative reaction if used wrong. The final primary colour is
used to create a completely different feeling in consumers as it is the colour which causes the feeling of happiness. Yellow is often paired
with red to create a balance between the colours. Companies such as Mcdonalds, Lays and Denny's use this colour combination as the
contrast between the colours and the emotions they cause create a trust between consumer and the company.

3. Existing Logo Research – Globally Famous Logos:
Use of colour: The logo pairs the
two primary colours red and
yellow. Red is used to convey a
feeling of power, passion and
power which contradicts the
emotions that are created by
yellow (which is typically happiness
and warmness.) This colour
combination is typically used by
fast food companies as red triggers
hunger inside of people,
stimulating their appetite and the
yellow created a feeling of
friendliness which entices the
consumer to go to McDonalds to
ease their appetite.
In my eyes, I view the M used as being Sans serif due to the softness of the
text. The use of this makes me, as a consumer, feel like the company is more
inviting and friendly. If they had used a serif font for the logo, then I would
have felt more like the brand was supposed to be seen as a restaurant for
fine dining. The golden arches of the logo were introduced in the late 1960's
as previously the deign was created to imitate the design of the restaurant
however as the buildings changed, the logo grew outdated. There was also a
rumor that circulated when the logo was changed to the arched logo we
know now, saying that the logo was designed to mimic the shape of breasts.
Their infamous slogan 'I'm lovin it'" is simple however it was clearly created with
the idea in mind that they needed to make the company seem more inviting. The
informal nature of the slogan itself is what makes the consumers feel like they have
a sort of relationship with the company which is smart, as this kind of relationship
leads to brand loyalty, causing customers to return to McDonalds more and more
rather than their competitors.

4. Existing Logo Research – Globally Famous Logos: Colour Theory: The green used in the logo could have been used to
convey the message that the brand is environmentally friendly as the
colour green is associated with nature and health. However, the green
could have been used so that the consumer associates the brand with
money and wealth. The second approach could backfire though as it
could make the brand seem fancier than it actually is, and this could
drive customers away.
The most recent logo design
from the company has removed
their name from the logo which
could be because of how well
known the logo is globally, but it
makes the company seem more
personal this way as their old
logo felt a bit abrasive to me as
it was so bold and in your face
with their branding however the
newer logo is softer. The colour
is also more pleasant on the
eyes in the newer version of the
logo ass it is softer. The older
logo's branding was harsher as
they seemed to make a point
with including three stars on the
logo to align with the 'star' part
of 'Starbucks."
The iconic figure in the logo is said to represent a siren which could be a reference to the
sea seeing as Starbucks originated in Seattle which is close to the sea. The siren could
also have been used though to represent obsession and addiction as these are both
things that are related to sirens, giving the brand a mythical and mysterious appeal to it.
This appeal draws in customers, creating a good relationship between the brand and its
customers as we are brought in by the mystery and stay for the products.

5. Existing Logo Research – Globally Famous Logos:
Amazon's logo is honestly one of the best pieces of branding in my opinion. They manage to have such a simple logo however
it has a great meaning behind it that not only makes the brand seem more approachable and for the people. The fact that the
text is lowercase and, in a sans,-serif font sets the tone well for this logo as it already makes the company seem friendly, as the
writing itself is not in your face when you are scrolling through their website. The contrast between the black and the orange
isn't too harsh either as they used a soft orange in their logo. It makes the logo more appealing in my opinion as it is easy to
look out without being too complicated like other logos (such as the old Starbucks logo which was honestly a little too busy in
my opinion.)
The use of black for the text in the
logo represents the company as being
elegant, superior over other companies
who are doing the same as they are.
The orange used then contradicts what
the black causes us to think as orange is
used to create a feeling of pride and
happiness which juxtaposes the way we
would feel if the logo were just black.
The smile in the logo could be seen as a representation of the customers
satisfaction, almost as if it's saying, 'shop with us and you will be happy."
The way the smile also points from the 'a' to the 'z' in the name is also
extremely smart as it represents the fact that amazon offers a humongous
variety of things from a to z. The logo has been created with many small
details used purposefully to create a good image of the company in the
eyes on a customers. They do it simply but well. This is something I can
only aspire to do with my own logo. I want to create something simple but
eye catching as these are the logos which appeal to me the most.

6. Existing Logo Research – Logos in the Media Industry:
ITV rebranded in 2012, deciding that they wanted to change their logo alongside their change in channels and
branding. It was not a huge change to their logo however the changed they did make were very effective when it
came to making their logo more appealing to the eye. The person who designed this logo stated that the five colours
in the logo were chosen from their 'environment'. The span of the colours is said to have been used to represent the
network's wide range of channels and content that they have available. The creator also stated that he created this
logo with the idea of making sure that it works against both a black and white background.
I feel like this logo works well with ITV seeing as they are a television network. The variety of colours being used
to represent the content available on ITV was very smart in my eyes. You can tell this logo was made with a wide
target audience available as it does not exactly appeal to just one age range, instead appealing to everyone. The
logo uses a Sans-Serif font which they created themselves for branding and this makes the company seem very
friendly from a consumer's perspective. In comparison to a logo such as the BBC's, I feel like this one is a lot
easier on the eyes as it is softer and more rounded, less abrasive than other television companies that are well
known within the UK.
As far as branding goes, I think that
this logo smashes it out of the bark.
The font is easy on the eyes and so are
the chosen colours. As well as this it is
very memorable, when you think of
ITV, the logo does pop into your head.

7. Existing Logo Research – Logos in the Media Industry:
This is the logo of a company
local to me that are a media
company. Honestly, in my
eyes I do think that this logo
is not the greatest seeing as
it is supposed to be for a
media company however
the logo, in my eyes, is too
childish for a professional
company based in a city
where media is an industry
that is just beginning to
properly blossom.
Looking at this logo, it gives me ideas for what I want to avoid when creating my
own logo. I would also use a sans-serif font as it makes a company seem
approachable (and seeing as this is supposed to be a media company,
approachability is extremely important as finding clients when you're working
freelance is based on a lot of trust.) I, however, would choose to go with a colour
scheme that makes more sense together, as I would not want a logo where one
of the words completely misses the eye on first glace. First impressions are too
important to mess it up with something like an unappealing colour scheme.
The blue and orange used in the logo
would be alright on their own however I
feel like the grey used for the productions
just doesn’t stand out enough to the point
where the eyes just skip over it at first
sight. The sans serif font used for this logo
works somewhat well when you
realise what they were trying to go for
however again, from the perspective of a
potential customer, it does not feel
professional enough for a company you
are expected to trust to make a product
for you.

8. Existing Logo Research – Logos in the Media Industry:
This logo is also a logo for a local
media company in Sunderland,
and it seems to contrast Meash
Media's logo completely. Unlike
Meash, this company decided to
go with a very minimal amount of
colour in their logo, choosing to
only put it in a circle which is
meant to replace the 'O' in their
company's name. As someone
else who's aspiration is to find a
job in the media industry, I would
say that their use of colour in
their logo should have been
altered slightly as the blue
merging with the green is
unappealing to the eye, straining
an eye due to the fact that they
do not merge well. The yellow
and green pair together well
however it is just the blue that
puts me off when looking at this
logo.
This font to me seems to be more Serif than Sans-Serif which I think would be a
good idea for a media company however the execution itself is not fantastic in my
opinion. The contrast between the capitalised letters and the lowercase letters
don't exactly make sense, making the logo look somewhat busy despite the fact
that the logo is so simple. In all honesty, this logo doesn’t exactly look especially
special in any way which would not bode well seeing as they are a company based
in a city where media is still growing as an industry. I would not personally keep
this logo as my company's logo as branding is so important in this field, and this
logo is more than forgettable.
This logo looks like it would be geared more towards a company that focuses
on financing and other industries similar to this. It reminds me of logos that
banks use, seeing as they often feature a small piece of Serif writing alongside
a small colour feature, examples of this being HSBC and ING:

9. What I have learned from this:
• From the logos that I analysed, I have found a few different things that I would like to
incorporate into my own logo however there are also parts of the logos above that I would
certainly not like to see within the logo that is supposed to represent my company.
• First of all, the things that I will keep in mind with my own logo. Looking at the amazon logo,
the simplicity of it works in the company's favor as it makes the logo memorable but, in a way,
where it is not too harsh on the eyes. I would like my logo to hold this same quality as in my
eyes, this is what makes a logo effective. From looking at the logos above it helped me realise I
wanted a simplistic logo that does not feature colour as this is the kind of logo that appeals to
me.
• Onto the things I would not like to add into my own logo, the colourful logos that I have looked
into have always fell short for me, so I don’t want to add colour into my logo. In my opinion,
that is what can make or break a logo. As well as this, looking at the logos that are local to me,
neither of them particularly stand out, meash media being a little too childish in my eyes and
into it media just not having an especially eye-catching quality to it. Keeping them in mind, I
want to make sure I make my logo stand out whilst also keeping it professional. I would not use
a font like meash media did as I don’t think it gives off the impression a media company should
be giving out and with into it media, the font they used looks too plain, so it does not stand out
on its own.