Your Logo is a Storyteller

Has anyone ever created a more inspirational logo than NASA?

Introduced in 1959, the iconic blue circle was festooned with stars, an orbital path, and an abstract red supersonic wing. For a nation captivated by the race to the moon, the image represented the promise of space exploration and America’s seemingly infinite power.

But when NASA’s mission changed in the 1970s, the logo changed, too. Gone were stars and the sense of wonder, replaced by what came to be known as “the worm”.

“The worm was intentionally designed without any stars or aircraft in it,” explained NASA historian Bill Barry. “NASA could then be anything you wanted it to be, including not a space agency.”

And when morale at NASA was in dumpster after the Challenger disaster and repeated delays in launching the Hubble Space Telescope, the worm turned. The blue circle came back, revived by a new NASA administrator who “thought the resurrection of the old logo from the moon landings would help boost morale”.

So, which logo was better?

Descriptive vs. non-descriptive

A study published in the Journal of Marketing Research reviewed the logos of nearly 600 companies to compare the impact of what the researchers labelled descriptive and non-descriptive logos.

NASA’s blue circle is a descriptive logo, which is characterized by “textual or visual design elements…indicative of the type of product marketed by a brand”. The red “worm” logo is non-descriptive. As Barry suggested, it could have been a logo for anything. Had you never heard of NASA, you might have seen that logo and assumed it was a television network or a brand of tortilla chips.

The authors found that, in general, descriptive logos like the blue circle are better for brand equity. They are more likely to improve brand perceptions, increase purchase intent, and bolster sales.

For example, Animal Planet was onto something when it changed its logo to incorporate a whimsical elephant.

Popeyes’ logo became more descriptive in 2020 with the addition of a chicken, apparently strutting bravely into the poultry afterlife on its way to your stomach.

Often, descriptive logos work metaphorically. Burger King was probably wise to retain not only the word “Burger” but also the stylized image of its signature Whopper in its revamped logo. Instagram’s “product” is hard to describe in a word or two, but the logo’s subtle resemblance to an old Polaroid camera makes it descriptive, to an extent.

We are witnessing a trend in logos becoming bolder and less detailed, in part so they can be more easily reproduced on smaller screens. However, some brands may have lost something in the transition. For example, Vimto, a mixed-fruit carbonated soft drink, has replaced its highly descriptive fruit tornado with a hulking, non-descriptive “V”. The Gmail logo has grown non-descriptive over time, as the word “mail” and the image of the envelope have gradually disappeared.

Exceptions to the rule

This does not mean a descriptive logo is always preferable. The research suggests that the more established the brand, the less pronounced the effect of a descriptive logo. McDonald’s non-descriptive golden arches, for example, work just fine, thank you. Starbucks eliminated the word “coffee” from its logo in 2011, but it probably made no difference. By that point, everyone knew the brand, and its familiar mermaid logo could stand on its own.

Moreover, the authors note that non-descriptive logos work better if a brand is associated with negative concepts. In other words, if you are a funeral home, keep that casket out of your logo. If you are an exterminator, think twice about images of creeping cockroaches and dead rats.

Shifting to a non-descriptive logo also is a good idea when a brand seeks to broaden the associations attached to it – which was NASA’s goal with the red “worm”. More recently, in its quest to become known for a full menu of breakfast fare, Dunkin’ pointedly removed the word “Donuts” and the coffee cup from its logo.

The importance of emotion

But all else being equal, why are descriptive logos so powerful?  With apologies to Rod Stewart, every picture tells a story. It is impossible to gaze upon a painting like Nighthawks or a photograph like Dorthea Lange’s Migrant Mother and not begin to add your own interpretation. How did these people get here? What are they doing? How are they feeling? Where are they going?

Like a work of art, a descriptive logo guides our interpretations and sparks our thinking – usually unconsciously. When we see the word “burger” and the outline of a Whopper in the Burger King logo, we form a mental consumption vision for what eating that burger will be like. We may never have drunk a Vimto, but the cyclone of fruit illustrated the whirlwind of flavor that awaited us if we ever did. The blue NASA logo inspired Americans to embrace the impossible.

That’s also why companies are better off leaving well enough alone if their non-descriptive logos have become iconic and therefore part of consumers’ memory structures. Those logos can tell stories, too – or, more specifically, they activate stories consumers have created for themselves over time.

Were McDonald’s ever to scrap the golden arches it would disrupt the emotional memories that loyal customers, in particular, have of the brand.  The founder and creative director at Nomad, Stuart Watson, has described the power of the non-descriptive Hot Wheels logo to magically transport him back to childhood.  The Lego logo is non-descriptive, but look at it and try not to imagine the fun of snapping those bricks together.

On the other hand, a logo that isn’t connected with years of positive memories or that doesn’t conjure a consumption vision tends to melt into the wallpaper.

In other words, effective logos connect us emotionally to a brand. It is noteworthy that two categories that have historically featured an abundance of descriptive logos, at least in the U.S., are children’s hospitals and professional sports franchises, both of which are dependent on creating powerful emotional experiences.

 

Children’s hospitals are trying to reduce fear and provide hope for both kids and their parents. Sports teams are looking to create strong and lasting loyalty – players come and go, but a logo offers a sense of continuity. Indeed, several of the sports logos depicted above officially disappeared for a period of time, only to return, in part because of how closely they were tied to memories of the franchise. Diehard fans simply refused to let them go.

Designing a logo might be harder than ever. You need a visual (or set of visuals) that will work just as well on an outdoor billboard as on a phone or smartwatch. But there is more to consider than just readability. Marketers should also contemplate the descriptive power of their logo and the story it tells about their brand.