There are some company logos that are etched into our minds. Famous organisations such as IKEA, Target, or Burger King -- we all know their logos and branding. Or do we? If you were asked to draw a famous logo from nothing but a memory, how accurate do you think your rendition would be? We might think we know our logos well, but when put to the test the results can be quite surprising!

Memorable Promotional Logos on Merchandise

If you were asked to recall a famous logo from memory, do you think you could do it? When Signs.com asked average Americans to draw relatively well-known logos, everyone who participated was pretty confident, but the actual results show that perhaps some of that confidence was misplaced. Though we all pride ourselves on our outstanding memory for effective brand logos, we don't retain nearly as much detail as we'd like to think we do.

In fact, only 20% of participants could draw the Apple logo accurately using nothing but their memory as a guide. That might seem startling, given that Apple is one of the biggest brands on the planet and their logo is in almost every household, but memory can be a fickle thing. Although most people who drew the design knew there was a bite in the apple from the logo, only 1 in 3 put it on the correct side of the fruit. Add to that a whole bunch of people remembering ancient logos (such as the rainbow stripe design) and those who added completely new elements entirely (such as a stalk, which the apple does not have) -- the result is that we get the basic idea of these designs, and even basic colours, but the fine details often don't sink in.

Reflecting on similar trends with other brands such as Target and IKEA, what we can take away from this interesting survey is that simply is best. The more simplistic logos were better retained by consumers, whereas the more complex logos (such as Footlocker or Seven Eleven) were easily confused. So next time you're considering revising your logo check out how much information the average consumer retains and work from there with simple colours and designs for the greatest impact.

Logos first spotted here: http://www.adweek.com/creativity/how-hard-is-it-to-draw-a-brand-logo-from-memory-much-much-harder-than-you-thought/