The launching of the new logo for The Conservatives has inevitably generated many a gibe, as people try to find reasons for why an oak tree is a bad thing. Or how it is in fact a piece of broccoli, according to the ocularly challenged Lord Tebbit. What I think is much more interesting is how the tree is represented. I wondered how this very soft style was chosen and it was the words in today ’s Daily Telegraph that confirmed my suspicion: “We tested a large number of different images, and the logo proved the overwhelming favourite.” Said a party spokesman. Research did it.
Now don ‘t get me wrong, research is a critical element of the brand development process, but it needs to be just that, an element. If research is used to make the decision, rather than as an aid to the decision making process, the result will tend to be bland. The law of averages will, as sure as acorns are acorns, result in the average. Researching corporate identities is notoriously difficult as it deals in the ideas of what an organisation stands for and can only represent a reference point to those ideas. If that reference point doesn ‘t evoke a strong sense of the organisation behind it it is not working.
One wonders what the other contenders were, you can bet your bottom dollar that this pleasant little oak tree did not arouse the greatest passions. Logos should remind people of an organisation ’s stance and trigger a strong emotion. Look at the USA government ’s bald eagle or even the Labour party ’s rose, at least the rose has a whiff of blood coloured passion about it.
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