Rationalistic Contemplations-Methodological Explorations On Logo Designs From Perspectives Of Visual Perception And Cognition

The prosperity of commercial economy has brought about and greatly stimulated the development of logo designs. Large numbers of logos appear each day. In contrast, the development of theories and research on logo design is still weak, not in proportion to the extensive practices and broad applications of logo designs. The weakness that plagues the theories has led to blurry assessment criteria for logo designs, and thus plunges the practices of logo design into plights.Capitalizing on the findings from research on visual perception theories, this thesis analyzes, from the perspective of visual perception, the processes involved in people's receiving visual signals. It applies the theories to the research on the logo pattern design, in the hope that through an effort of interdisciplinary and in-depth theorizing, it can induce some general methods for logo design, promote rationalistic knowledge of the logo design, and thus contribute to a new perspective of observations and novel practices in design activities.The main body of this article consists of four parts. The first part offers an aesthetic analysis of logos, incorporating knowledge of general psychology and vision psychology into the analysis of the aesthetics of form and content and their inherent relationships. The aesthetic theories of this part lay a solid foundation for the methodological investigation of logo designs discussed below.The second part analyzes the values of perceptual and rationalistic expression in logo design. Aiming at a theoretical basis of rationalistic expression in logo design, this part examines such visual perception theories as perceptual simplification law, perceptivity and symmetry, figure-ground relationships and their depths, laws of similarity and proximity, and visual illusions. These theories form the theoretical basis for analysis of logo pattern creations and psychological feedback of visual perception.The third part, which is the focus of this article, gives a theoretical examination of some representative and classic cases of logo deigns from the perspective of visual perception, extracting the general factors involved in those cases with the hope that they can inspire ideas that are applicable in the research for a methodology of logo designs. The process of logo design is divided into the five phases: (a) survey and analysis, (b) inspiration and image formation, (c) pattern processing, (d) color adjustment, and (e) finalization. The inspiration and image formation phase and pattern processing phase are the control parts and are thus given a rigorous methodological scrutiny. Attempts are also made to apply the findings from above to the design processes of real-life cases.The last part, the conclusion, summarizes and refines the analyses made earlier in the parts above and suggests a methodology that can be used to guide practice and research in logo designs. This part also recognizes the values of rationalistic expression in logo design—it contributes to the realization of"meaningful form."That is, it introduces the research findings in the field of human visual perception into the designing of logo patterns. Forms in artistic works serve as carriers of perception, and their connotations are reflected in viewers'psychological experiences in perceiving the forms, structures, and orders of the patterns. The connotations then transform into an esthetical appreciation and feeling, thus effectively accomplishing the communication of information and making pattern design a better conveyance of"meaning"through"form."...