In a fascinating study done in the US on 156 individuals, telling them to draw famous logos from memory, the results were somewhere between predictable and astonishing. P
lease read the full study here - it is worth it. Starbucks performed in the least way, owing to how complex its logo is. A comparative results chart shows the different results.
It comes as to no surprise that the more details there are in the logo the lesser it will be remembered (interestingly, this has nothing to do with brand engagement). The website indicate - accurately - that: "One explanation is that, as Sherlock Holmes said, we "see, but do not observe." Logos of giant corporations are so widespread that we don't need to have a photographic memory of them to recognize and engage with these brands. Instead, we remember just enough to get by. This process has been dubbed "inattentional amnesia" – despite seeing something many times, we fail to create a lasting memory of it. We found this to be the case even when participants engaged with the brands more than average."
And they end with this: "Perhaps you think you would have fared a little better. If so, we'll finish by asking you a very simple question: What color is the second letter in Google’s logo?"
My answer was
"green" - the correct answer was "red".
