The Influence of Brand Logo Design Elements on Consumer Response: A Systematic Review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54097/8wjva227Keywords:
Brand Logo, Design Elements, Consumer Response, Visual Logo, Sonic Logo.Abstract
As a key sensory asset for enterprises, the design characteristics of the brand logo profoundly influence consumer response. Employing a systematic literature review methodology, this paper aims to clarify the conceptualization and typology of brand logos, alongside the mechanisms through which their design elements affect consumer response. First, the study proposes a broad concept of brand logo (encompassing multi-sensory systems like visual and auditory), moving beyond the limitations of traditional visual-centric approaches. Second, focusing on the two core types – visual logos and sonic logos – it systematically deconstructs the pathways through which design elements influence consumer response. Finally, the paper outlines potential future research directions, including AI-driven dynamic logo design, globalization and cultural adaptation strategies, and multi-sensory integrated experience construction. This provides a framework for theoretical advancement and practical innovation in brand logo design.
Downloads
References
[1] Melzner J, Raghubir P. The Sound of Music: The Effect of Timbral Sound Quality in Audio Logos on Brand Personality Perception. Journal of Marketing Research, 2023, 60 (5): 835-846.
[2] Zou H, Wang H, Li J. Framed or Unframed? An empirical study of the impact of food brand logo frame on consumers' food preferences. Food Research International, 2023.
[3] Julien, Grobert, Caroline, et al. Surprise! We changed the logo. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 2016, 25(3): 239-246.
[4] Kara K, Ergin E A, Yalcin G C,et al. Sustainable brand logo selection using an AI-Supported PF-WENSLO-ARLON hybrid method. Expert Systems with Application, 2025, 260(1): 1-21.
[5] Cian L, Krishna A, Elder R S. This Logo Moves Me: Dynamic Imagery from Static Images. Journal of marketing research, 2014, 51(2): 184-197.
[6] Henderson P W, Giese J L, Cote J A. Impression Management Using Typeface Design. Journal of Marketing, 2004, 68(4): 60-72.
[7] Luluo P, Yuting W, Guowei Z. Brand Logo Research: A Literature Review and Prospects. Nanjing University Business Review, 2020, 17(2): 115-139.
[8] Krishna A. An Integrative Review of Sensory Marketing: Engaging the Senses to Affect Perception, Judgment and Behavior. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 2012, 22(3): 332-351.
[9] Krishna A, Norbert S. Sensory Marketing, Embodiment, and Grounded Cognition: A Review and Introduction. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 2014, 24(2), 159-168.
[10] Techawachirakul M, Pathak A, Motoki K, et al. Influencing brand personality with sonic logos: The role of musical timbre. Journal of Business Research, 2023.
[11] Ke Z, Haizhong W, Chen Y. Sensory Marketing: A Literature Review and Prospects. Foreign Economics & Management, 2016, 38(5): 69-85.
[12] Chris J, Tom M. Effects of Brand Logo Complexity, Repetition, and Spacing on Processing Fluency and Judgment. Journal of Consumer Research, 2001, 28(1): 18-32.
[13] Johann M, Priya R. The Sound of Music: The Effect of Timbral Sound Quality in Audio Logos on Brand Personality Perception. Journal of Marketing Research, 2023, 60(5): 932-949.
[14] Scott S P, Sheinin D, Labrecque L I. Small sounds, big impact: sonic logos and their effect on consumer attitudes, emotions, brands and advertising placement. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 2022, 31(7): 1091-1103.
[15] Ruiqin L, Yan W, Hongli Z. The shape of premiumness: Logo Shape's effects on perceived brand premiumness and brand preference. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 2023.
[16] Meiting L, Hua W. Angular or Rounded? The Effect of the Shape of Green Brand Logos on Consumer Perception. Journal of Cleaner Production, 2020, 279(2):123801.
[17] Xu L, Yu F, Ding X. Circular-Looking Makes Green-Buying: How Brand Logo Shapes Influence Green Consumption. Sustainability, 2020, 12(5): 1791.
[18] Pengjie P, Long Y, Zhongxun W. Circle or Oval: The Effects of Brand Logo Frame and Content Matching on Consumer Perception. Commercial Research, 2020, 63(12): 1-9.
[19] Xiaoling G, Hao L, Yicong Z. The Race between Lion and Rabbit? Research on Consumer Preference of Animal Brand Logo Types: Evidence from Eye Tracking and Experiments. Nankai Business Review, 2023, 26(6): 36-49.
[20] Ke Z, Jing H. How do the Logos of Place Brands Influence the Public Recognition and the Confidence in Development? With Hainan Free Trade Port as an Example. Journal of Hainan University (Humanities & Social Sciences), 2022, 40(5): 140-151.
[21] Zhipeng X, Huanyu Q, Jing Z, et al. Capital Letter = Power? The Influence of Letter Case on Brand Logo. Journal of Psychological Science, 2023, 46(3): 603-610.
[22] Xiaobing X, Rong C, Wenjing L. The Impact of Uppercase vs. Lowercase Lettering Logos on Perception of the Brand. Journal of Marketing Science, 2016, 12(2): 75-86.
[23] Wenting F, Tao W. The power of numbers: The influence of number magnitude in brands on consumers’ attitudes. Acta Psychologica Sinica, 2017, 49(12): 1581-1581.
[24] Henrik H. The Impact of Incomplete Typeface Logos on Perceptions of the Firm. Journal of Marketing, 2011, 75(4): 86-93.
[25] Fangxuan L, Jianan M. The effectiveness of the destination logo: Congruity effect between logo typeface and destination stereotypes. Tourism Management, 2023.
[26] Ko Y. The effects of luminance contrast, colour combinations, font, and search time on brand icon legibility. Applied Ergonomics, 2017, 65: 33-40.
[27] Franck C, Jonathan L. Competent or Sad Blue? Lively or Aggressive Red? Why, How, and When Background Color Shapes the Meanings of Logo Hues. Journal of Consumer Research, 2024, 51(4): 820–844.
[28] Jing H, Jinlei D, Sha L, et al. More Saturated, More Exciting? A Study of the Effects of Brand Logo Color Saturation on Brand Personality Perception. Journal of Marketing Science, 2022, 2(1): 52-68.
[29] Stephanie Q. L, Laurie L. W, Xi Y, et al. Marketing online food images via color saturation: A sensory imagery perspective. Journal of Business Research, 2022, 151: 366-378.
[30] Minghui Q, Anyi F, Aoyue L. Why Do Some Logos Induce People's Sense of Cheapness: The Effect of Color Stimulus. Journal of Marketing Science, 2022, 2(3): 42-57.
[31] Sundar A, Kellaris J J. How Logo Colors Influence Shoppers’ Judgments of Retailer Ethicality: The Mediating Role of Perceived Eco-Friendliness. Journal of Business Ethics, 2017, 146(3): 685-701.
[32] Baxter S M, Ilicic J. May the force drag your dynamic brand logo: The brand-work energy effect. International. Journal of Research in Marketing, 2018, 35(3): 509-523.
[33] Xin W, Huimin L, Hao C. The impacts of logo dynamism and product types on brand market performance. Journal of Business Research, 2023.
[34] Brasel A S, Hagtvedt H. Living brands: consumer responses to animated brand logos. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 2016, 44(5): 639-653.
[35] Robert A. W. Brand new: how visual context shapes initial response to logos and corporate visual identity systems. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 2023, 32(8): 1388-1398.
[36] Hua W, Tao W, Wenting F, et al. The Impact of Straight and Tilted Brand Logo on Perception and Attitude of Consumers. Management Review, 2018, 30(2): 136-145.
[37] Li S, Liu P, Zhou R. Diagonal or vertical? An empirical study of the impact of food brand logo orientation on consumers’ food perception and food attitude. Food Quality and Preference, 2020, 86(3) 103985.
[38] Denghui W, Lefa T, Hui Z, et al. Active White Space: Research on the Influence of Logo Design on Consumers’ Perception and Attitude. Management Review, 2023, 35(4): 172-186.
[39] Chen Y S A, Bei L T. Free the brand: How a logo frame influences the potentiality of brand extensions. Journal of Brand Management, 2018.
[40] Yi W, Jia L. The Impact of Brand Logo Boundary on Consumer's Innovation Evaluation: From the Perspective of Embodied Cognition and Spatial Metaphor. Journal of Central University of Finance & Economics, 2021, 41(5): 109-117.
[41] Fengjie J, Huayu S, Yaru N. The Influencing Mechanism of Brand Logo Frame on Consumer Brand Attitude. Review of Economy and Management, 2019, 35(1): 45-56.
[42] Tatiana M. F, Jiao Z, Michael T. The Contingent Nature of the Symbolic Associations of Visual Design Elements: The Case of Brand Logo Frames. Journal of Consumer Research, 2016, 43(4): 549-566.
[43] Weiyu D, Hao J, Yang Y, et al. The Influence of Disorganised Environment on Consumer’s Preference for Brand Logo Boundarles - The Mediating Effect of Personal Control. Journal of Marketing Science, 2017, 13(3): 25-37.
[44] Fei C, Xia W. Effects of Awe on Consumers’Preferences for Bounded Brand Logos. Consumer Economics. 2018, 34(4): 66-73.
[45] Wu X. Beauty of symmetry - The impact of logo symmetry on perceived product quality. PloS one, 2025, 20(1): e0317229.
[46] Northey G, Chan Y E. Political conservatism and preference for (a) symmetric brand logos. Journal of Business Research, 2020, 115: 149-159.
[47] Aditi B, Samuel D. B. Beyond Beauty: Design Symmetry and Brand Personality. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 2018, 28(1): 77-98.
[48] Bettels J, Wiedmann K. Brand logo symmetry and product design: The spillover effects on consumer inferences. Journal of Business Research, 2019, 97: 1-9.
[49] Janiszewski C, Meyvis T. Effects of Brand Logo Complexity, Repetition, and Spacing on Processing Fluency and Judgment. Journal of Consumer Research, 2001, 28(1): 18-32.
[50] Tanvi G, Henrik H, Campbell M C, et al. Safe Together, Vulnerable Apart: How Interstitial Space in Text Logos Impacts Brand Attitudes in Tight versus Loose Cultures. Journal of Consumer Research, 2021, 48(3): 474-491.
[51] Rui G, Yang L, Min Z, et al. The Impact of Chinese Cultural Symbolism of Brand Identity on Brand Equity——UK market as an example. Journal of Systems & Management, 2024.
[52] Jiarong S, Zihao J. Chinese cultural element in brand logo and purchase intention. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 2023, 41(2): 171-185.
[53] Felix S, Widya P. Cute brand logo enhances favorable brand attitude: The moderating role of hope. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 2021.
[54] Felix S, Junbum K. Too cute to be bad? Cute brand logo reduces consumer punishment following brand transgressions. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 2022, 39(4): 1108-1126.
[55] Xian F K H, Liudmila T, Fang L. Anthropomorphised or not? Natural-organic logo’s impact on product value perceptions and consumers’ willingness to pay. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 2024, 41(4): 424-438.
[56] Machado C J, Carvalho D V L, Torres A, et al. Brand logo design: examining consumer response to naturalness. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 2015, 24(1): 78-87.
[57] Ahmad D, Nicholas A, Gilang K. The anthropomorphic brand logo and its effect on perceived functional performance. Journal of Brand Management, 2022, 29(3): 1-14.
[58] Lee J, Ko E, Megehee M C. Social benefits of brand logos in presentation of self in cross and same gender influence contexts. Journal of Business Research, 2015, 68(6): 1341-1349.
[59] TaylorR C, Borenstein B, Pangarkar A. What, no logos? Why some minimalists prefer quiet luxury. Psychology & Marketing, 2024, 42(1): 142-158.
[60] Butcher L, Phau I, Teah M. Brand prominence in luxury consumption: Will emotional value adjudicate our longing for status?. Journal of Brand Management, 2016, 23(6): 701-715.
[61] Tingyi W, Rong C, Jingdi Z. How the Situational Design of Brand Logo Influences Consumers’ Perception of Brand Warmth. Nankai Business Review, 2024.
[62] Sanjay P, Noah V. The influence of sound logo instruments on brand personality perceptions: An investigation of brand ruggedness and sophistication. Journal of Business Research, 2023.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Highlights in Business, Economics and Management

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.







