USE OF COLOR IN CORPORATE LOGOS OF INDIAN COMPANIES AND THEIR IMPACT.

Keywords: Colour semiotics, logos, The significance of colour to convey meaning is evident from cultures across the world. The use of colour in the Indian cultural context is also unique and known for vibrancy and richness. Colour is often associated with moods, cues, intent and an expression of the values. Several studies on colour as a factor in human behaviour have confirmed this. There are also forms of colour therapy in alternative medicine. Colour is sometimes referred to as the silent salesperson as it exerts persuasive power at a subliminal level. ( Green , D . and Loveluck , V . ( 1994 ) Understanding a corporate symbol , Applied Cognitive Psychology ,Vol. 8 , pp. 37 47). In the US the Lanham Act protects product colours as trademarks and increasingly in other countries where colour associated to a brand is trademarked Some studies report that the change in the use of colour has resulted in increased sales. Wagner Color Research Institute. It is also suggested that Colour also directs consumers toward thinking of a specific company s product. The study analyses the colours used in the logos of the top ET 500 companies and further analyses the logos of the top 5 companies of each of a selected list of ten industries . Based on the data collected, a survey was administered to determine response to the 12 main colours distilled from the logos and refined to reflect the 12 colours which can be accurately differentiated by people with standard vision without errors. Responses to the 12colours were measured using a using Semantic Differential Scale Anchors ( Madden et.al) . A second set of questionnaires was administered after that to elucidate top-of mind colour to brand recall , brand to colour recall and any emotions these elicited in the respondent s to determine the strength of the colour-brand association and the suitability of the colour to the brand.