Visual Re-design of an Existing Logo for a Compan - Essay Example

?Contents Introduction 2 Overview of the organization/product 2 Logo of Christian Dior 3 Visual understanding of logo 4 Re design of logo (Visual ideas) 5 Proposed Logo #1 6 Proposed Logo #2 6 Proposed Logo #3 7 Proposed Logo #4 8 Communication campaign 8 Target Market: 9 Differentiation 10 Brand Design 11 Conclusion 14 Recommendations 15 Bibliography and References 16 Introduction Logo is the symbolic representation of any organisation. Logo represents what the organization has to offer to its clients and how the company could meet the needs of the customers (Rivers, 2002). Logo could be an icon, a symbol, a name written in a unique style, a trademark that is used to represent the name of the organization (Olins, 2003). Logo has an important role to play because it is used to represent the organization in different marketing material, in packaging, in corporate kit including business cards, letter heads, post cards etc (Verhoef, & Leeflang 2009) and therefore a unique and attractive logo would gather the attention of the most whereas a boring and a dull logo would not be able to get the attention of people (Kumar, 2009). Today as industries have become highly competitive, every organisation needs to differentiate itself from the other firms and logo has an important role in differentiating a company with others (Pavitt, 2002). A logo is able to make the company stand out in the crowd and therefore an attractive logo could help in increasing the sales of the product particularly when consumers are buying without thinking too much (Blythe, 2008). This report analyses one of today’s leading brands of the fashion industry in the world, Christian Dior. The report examines what the logo of the company visually reflects and communicates to the target market. Also the report comes up after redesigning the logo of the company and recommends what the logo of the company should be. The report also highlights how the competing firms in the fashion industry are making use of their logos to communicate what they want to. Overview of the organization/product Christian Dior is one of the leading international brands in the fashion industry and it offers different variety of products including clothing and fashion accessories, fragrance and beauty products including makeup and skin care products, jewellery and timepieces. The company offers fashion clothing and other accessories and the main target market of the company are female particularly young females. As the company offers a lot to its target market, therefore the logo of the company should be such that it would be able to get the attention of people and reflect the target market about the offerings of the company. Logo of Christian Dior The logo of Christian Dior is just the name of the company written in Black and White. The logo of the company is has been shown in the following image: Also there is another variation in the logo of Christian Dior and the other variation is in inverted colours. The logo in inverted colours looks like the following image Visual understanding of logo It is important for the company to make sure that the logo of the company clearly reflects what the company offers to its client. A well prepared logo is able to get into the minds of the consumers and it is easily remembered by them. This is one of the reasons why many companies and entrepreneurs pay a lot of attention in designing the logo however companies that do not pay a lot of attention face consequences in the long run. The right combination of colours, image, style and overall look play an important role in the overall logo of the company and what it visually reflects to the audience (Zenker, & Martin, 2011). Therefore it is important to design the logo and to work on what the customers would perceive and understand from the logo of the company as the target market of the company would be able to recognise the brand from the logo. So, once the logo of the company is approved, the management needs to think over the logo and analyse from the perspective of a consumer what the logo reflects and communicates. The logo of Christian Dior is a simple one therefore it does not actually reflect what the company has to offer to its clients. However, the logo of the company represents its origin i.e. the name of the French city, Paris. The word ‘Paris’ is written below the name of the company indicating the city of origin of the company. Also it shows that the company wants to make use of the image of the city Paris in order to promote the brand. Paris is the capital as well as the largest city of France and therefore it can also be said that the company wants to show off that it is an important member in the fashion industry. Paris is a renowned and an attractive city to watch for tourists and the city has a lot to offer to people therefore using the name of the city would give an impression to the customer about the high quality of products as well as it would reflect that the company has a lot to offer to the clients or to the target market. However looking at the logo of Christian Dior, it is difficult for an individual to identify what the company has to offer as the logo of the company is very simple. Although, the logo of the company is uncomplicated however the logo can be easily remembered by people because of its simplicity, which is a plus point about the logo. In addition to this, the name of the company is easily readable however in terms of designing; it does not catch the attention of the audience as it lacks the charisma and the charm. The current logo of the company could be further improved a lot. If an individual looks at the logo for a minute, then the logo would look boring which is not a positive sign as the logo has to attractive and catchy enough to grab the attention of people and therefore an attractive logo for the company would have played a better role in attracting potential customers that are not the actual customers of the company. Re design of logo (Visual ideas) One of the important considerations while designing of the logo is to consider in mind that once the logo of the company is finalised, the company would have to use the same logo for years as logos cannot be changed every year (Brierley, 1995). It is important for the management to pay a lot of attention particularly at the time of introducing a product or a brand in designing of the logo (Maylor, & Blackman, 2005) however there are a lot of things to do, therefore they do not pay special attention in designing a unique and attractive logo and for that reason management because of limited time has to proceed with a dull logo and then ultimately at the end of the day it becomes costly for the company as they are not able to make use of their logo in the right way in comparison to the competing firms in the industry (Davis, 2005). This section of the report not only analyses how the logo of Christian Dior could be improved, but it also comes up with variety of logos that the company could use in order to better communicate the offerings of the company to the target market. Proposed Logo #1 As the company has been promoting as a Paris brand therefore considering the same philosophy of the management, the first proposed logo of the company should have an image of the Eiffel tower which is an important place in the Paris and has a vast history. Eiffel tower is an important place and people around the world know about this place therefore the company would be able to get the attention of the target market easily with the symbol of Eiffel tower. This would also reflect the main origin of the company as well as it would be an attractive logo for the company. Proposed Logo #2 Another proposed logo for the company is as follows. The idea behind the logo is to keep it simple, yet attractive and eye catchy. Different colours like Red, White and black have been used to make the logo attractive for the audience. Also the idea behind creating this logo it come up with more colours in the logo as the black and white colours previously used are also being used by many other companies in the industry and therefore it does not give the leverage to the company to differentiate itself. Also the existing philosophy of the company to keep the logo simple would remain the same. In addition to this, the proposed logo has the same philosophy of having the black background. Proposed Logo #3 Another logo that has been proposed for the company is shown in the image below. However this logo is funkier in nature and reflects a lot of feminism in the company’s logo. As the above two logos have been more of simple nature therefore to differentiate the logo of the company, the following logo has been proposed. However there is one disadvantage of going with the following logo and that is if Christian Dior goes for this logo then they need to rebrand their products a bit as this would give them more of a feminine touch in comparison to their existing logo and therefore they need to change their marketing and promotional strategies as well as need to change their style of branding as well. Proposed Logo #4 Another logo that has been proposed for Christian Dior is as follows. The logo has been made using the original concept of Christian Dior logo as well as including Eiffel tower in the logo. The following logo has been made in same colours that are black and white colours and using the original concept of the company’s logo but with different style and font the fourth logo has been proposed. Also a symbol of Eiffel tower has been added in the logo below to represent Paris. In addition to this, previously the whole logo had a black background but this logo has a combination of white and black background. Communication campaign One of the most important aspects of a logo is that it communicates with the audience and it is important to visualise what the logo is reflecting and communicating to the target market. Sending a wrong message from the logo could hurt the brand image of the company and therefore in the long run, the company has to suffer. According to Klein (2011), logo of the company is its identity and therefore it is critical for the management to make sure that company has the right identity. Verhoef, & Leeflang (2009) said that logo has a lot to communicate as it is used in different marketing material of the company and the logo of the company has to give the right message to the audience. As the logo of the company is used in the letter heads, invoices, shopping bags, business cards, flyers and brochures, therefore it is important for the company to make sure that the logo conveys the right message as not only the actual customers of the company but the potential customers would be looking at the logo. So a strong and a positive image should be reflected by the logo. In designing of the logo, there are different features that are to be considered by the company and some of the most important aspects are: Target Market: It is important while designing the logo, that target market of the company is considered. A logo that does not catch the attention of the target market, then it would be of no use. As most of the products offered by the company are feminine products whereas the logo does not have anything that reflects feminism therefore the redesigned logo needs to have something that reflects feminism. The above proposed logos have something that reflects feminism. First two logos have red colour indicating that the company’s target market is more feminine than the male. Different logos of other competing firms offering feminine products have similar colours like red, pink etc or symbols with which they are able to get the attention of the target market. Differentiation It is important for the logo to differentiate the company from the other firms particularly in the same industry (Williamson, 1994). The logo of Christian Dior has a very much same kind of style and colours as other firms in the industry and therefore the logo is not able to differentiate itself from the competing firms. There are different companies that have their logos in the similar kind of format and therefore it does not help Christian Dior to differentiate itself from the other firms. Logo of the following companies can be considered have the same style and colours as that of Christian Dior. The above logos are very much similar to the logo of Christian Dior and therefore it would not be able to differentiate the company’s offerings against others and it would not entice them to buy their products. However, if the company selects the proposed logo 2 of the report, then they could keep the same idea and philosophy but still would be able to differentiate themselves. Brand Design As the company offers fashion related products including jewellery, skin care products, watches, perfumes, clothing and other accessories therefore it is important that the logo should reflect something to what the company is offering (Duffy, & Hopper, 2003). A brand needs to reflect from its logo that it is a brand and a renowned one (Design, 2005). Different firms in the same industry have different variety of brands and some of them have the same colour. This section of the report showcases some of the logos of the competitors of Christian Dior and then it analyses how the company could redesign their logo by keeping in mind the logos of competitors. Logo of Hugo Boss Logo of Zara Logo of Marks and Spencer Logo of Gucci Logo of Fila Logo of Levis Logo of L’Oreal Different competing firms have been able to make use of their logos in a better way and some of the competitors have symbols or a special identification that they have used to promote their brands. Whereas, some firms have an icon with which they are able to differentiate them. Competitors of Christian Dior differ as they offer different variety of products to their customers and therefore each product has its own competitor. So, it is important for the company to come up with a logo that meet the needs of different target markets as well as reflects different products of the company. Most of the competitors Conclusion Logo has an important role to play in every organisation and companies need to make use of their logos in a better way (East, Vanhuele, & Wright, 2008). Markets have become highly competitive and it is important for the company to differentiate itself from the others. In order to differentiate companies need to make their logos stand out from the crowd (Klein, 2001) and for this, Christian Dior needs to redesign their logo and come up with more colours. This report proposes different logos of the company and it is important that the management thinks about the future and then redesign the logo of the company as they need to alter their branding strategy and marketing strategy as well as they redesign their logo. Recommendations It is important for the company to make use of their logos in the right way. At the moment, Christian Dior fails to do so because the logo of the company is very simple. Therefore they need to add more colours, more flavour in the logo in order to make the logo attractive and catchy. It is important for the management of Christian Dior to analyse how beneficiary changing the logo of the company can be as the company has been using the previous logo for years, though the logo looks uninteresting and boring. However the management can rebrand themselves and re-announce themselves in the market, this would not only entice the existing customers of the company but at the same time it would attract others in the market as well and with rebranding, customers using other competing products might also be attracted. Therefore it could be a good idea to change the logo however the overall process has to be managed in an appropriate manner to make sure that the company is able to communicate the right message in the right way to the right audience to get the right response. At the moment, the logo is boring and by adding colours or by adding a symbol of Eiffel Tower the company would be able to differentiate as well as make the logo attractive. However while redesigning the logo, the management needs to consider different pros and cons of redesigning the logo as it could give a wrong message to the audience as well. Bibliography and References Bignell, J 2002, Media Semiotics, Manchester University Press: Manchester, England. Blythe, J 2008, Consumer Behaviour, Jennifer Pegg, Rotolito Lombarda, Milan, Italy. Brierley, S 1995, Advertising Handbook. Routledge: London, England. Davis, M 2005, More Than A Name. Ava Publishing: West Sussex, England. Design, M 2005, Branding. RotoVision: East Sussex, England. Duffy, N & Hopper, J 2003, Passion Branding, Wiley Publication: England. East, R, Vanhuele, M, & Wright, M 2008, Consumer Behaviour: Application in Marketing, The Cromwell Press Ltd, Trowbridge, Wiltshire, Great Britain. Klein, N 2001, No Logo, Flamingo. Kumar, SR 2009, Consumer Behaviour and Branding, Dorling Kindersley, New Delhi, India. Maylor, H, & Blackman, K 2005, Research Business & Management, Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, UK. Olins, W 2003, Wally Olins On Brands. Thames and Hudson: London, England. Pavitt, J 2002, Brand New. V&A Museum Publications: Victoria, Australia. Rivers, C 2002, Identify. RotoVision: East Sussex, England. Verhoef, P. & Leeflang P 2009, ‘Understanding the Marketing Department’s Influence Within the Firm’, American Marketing Association, vol. 73, pp. 1-42. Williamson, J 1994, Decoding Advertisements: Ideology and Meaning in Advertising, Marion Boyars Publishers: London, England. Zenker, S & Martin, N 2011, ‘Measuring success in place marketing and branding,’ Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, vol. 7, pp. 32-41. Read More