Logo in Visual Branding

The logo is a crucial component of visual branding. Because it creates a strong first impression of how potential customers perceive your identity. It has a long-lasting impact and is often the first thing clients notice about a firm. A well-designed logo establishes a brand’s presence in the marketplace, communicates its essence, and increases customer awareness and trust. Gestalt concepts, a fundamental theory of visual perception, have a significant impact on successful logo designs. These concepts describe how people intuitively arrange visual elements into coherent, meaningful wholes. Knowing these criteria explains why logos are critical to visual branding.

1. Simplicity and unity.

Gestalt elements such as figure-ground relationships and simplicity highlight the importance of a clean, well-organized design. These logos make it easier for the public to understand and relate to the company by reducing visual clutter. Furthermore, minimalism encourages professionalism and clarity, both of which are essential for establishing confidence. Unlike other Gestalt principles, the law of simplicity is more difficult to express precisely, despite its importance. Designers must use their judgment to choose which interpretation of a composition the audience will find most straightforward. Because viewers find it easier to understand forms they are already familiar with, the solution is often found in fundamental geometry and prior experience.

2. proximity

The Gestalt principle of proximity refers to a person’s belief that a set of objects that are close together belong together. For example, the FedEx logo’s letters are closely spaced to form a cohesive visual aspect. When designing flexible layouts, it’s important to consider the proximity of items as they may change depending on screen size. Scaling down to smaller devices can damage grouping relationships by reducing or pushing components apart.

3. Similiarity

When two objects share a visual quality, the concept of resemblance assumes that they are somehow connected. To be considered part of the same group, the objects must share at least one evident trait, such as color, shape, or size. Our brains instinctively organize visual information by grouping like items together, which makes complex arrangements easier to understand. Elements with similar qualities are grouped together, even if they are not physically related. For example, in a grid of circles and squares, all of the circles are thought to belong to one group, while the squares form another. Similarity establishes a sense of connection or link between things. For example, in a logo or interface design, using similar shapes or colors repeatedly can help to connect diverse parts and make the design feel more coherent.

4. Figure—Ground

This principle explains how we distinguish objects (the “figure”) from their surroundings (the “ground”). For example, in a black-and-white photograph of a vase with two faces, the figure and ground can change depending on how the observer interprets the image.
In general, graphic designers want their figure to take center stage while the background supports it without diverting the viewer’s attention. This can be performed by providing a point of reference for the audience to examine the figure, using color to help set the mood, or painting lines to help define the figure’s shape. Typically, when designing a graphic design, designers want their figure to stand out and the ground to support it without distracting the audience. This can be accomplished by using color to set the mood, drawing lines to define the figure’s shape, or setting a point of reference where the figure is the first thing the audience perceives.

Its importance in visual branding originates from its ability to create a lasting impression, enhance recognition, and communicate a brand’s essential identity. A skillfully produced logo signifies an investment in a brand’s future, laying the framework for strong, long-lasting connections with its target audience. While gestalt principles can create unique logos, some local businesses fail to apply them, resulting in unmemorable logos.

Here is one example.
Dapur Bestie is a popular kimbab mentai business on Soekarno-hatta Street. They emphasize on online promotion using social media platforms such as Shopee, GrabFood, and Instagram, @dapur.bestie. They employ orange and black as their primary colors, with white and red as supplementary colors. They used to specialize on creating colorful Instagram feeds, but they have since turned to food photography.I believe their design adequately represents the kibabs they offer, but I believe their Instagram logo may benefit from adopting a less aggressive typeface and simplifying their kimbab image. They also have inconsistency issues with logo placement in their Instagram feeds. In some posts, the logo is too small, and because they use a bold font for their logo, it is difficult to see. In other posts, the logo is too large, obscuring the photo, and they primarily use black in a dark background, making it appear untidy.
I believe they can select a different color option for their post, such as white, so that it can be applied to several posts. Consistency is essential for ensuring that the logo adapts to multiple backgrounds while being recognizable and easy to read, making it useful in a variety of situations like as packaging, marketing, and digital media. Legibility and readability are critical elements in logo design, especially when designs are scaled across multiple sizes and media.

Even when a logo is copied on a website, billboard, or business card, typography ensures that the company name or tagline is easily understood and visible. A carefully chosen typeface maintains its integrity and legibility across all platforms, ensuring that the logo remains recognizable and effective.

Resource:

1. See https://www.albert.io/blog/gestalt-principles-ap-psychology-crash-course/#:~:text=Gestalt%20principles%20are%20the%20different,continuity%2C%20connectedness%2C%20and%20closure.

2. See https://www.nngroup.com/articles/gestalt similarity/#:~:text=The%20principle%20of%20similarity%20simply,part%20of%20the%20same%20group.

3. See https://99designs.com/blog/tips/gestalt-principles-psychology-design/#:~:text=The%20Gestalt%20Principle%20of%20Simplicity,outright%20as%20other%20Gestalt%20principles.

4. https://www.coreldraw.com/en/tips/gestalt-principles/figure-ground/#:~:text=The%20Gestalt%20Principle,of%20focus%20or%20the%20background.