KIA Rebrand Mockup | Design Room
It's no secret KIA's logo causes confusion.
Even those who know what it says will tell you it looks like KN or even KVI.
So, what can KIA do to remove the confusion and have a memorable logo?
Let's take a look.
We recognize Symbols faster than we can blink.
It takes 300 to 400 milliseconds to blink.
According to research from MIT, the human brain can recognize non-text visual elements (Symbols and Images) in as little as 13 milliseconds.
According to another study "The human brain can process images 60,000X faster than words."
By separating the visual elements from the text elements, we create a Symbol that is pleasing to the eyes and easy to remember while ensuring the text is easy to read meaning no more confusion and no longer having to account for people searching for terms such as "what is KN Car?".
Also note, cognitive differences such as ADD, ADHD, Dyslexia, etc. may cause written words to take even longer to understand (several in my family including myself fit in this category).
To quote KIA
"The word Kia has origins in the Chinese language with the first syllable Ki meaning to arise or come up out of. The second part of the word, A refers to Asia. Kia means to rise or come up out of Asia.".
From this we get the Symbol, an arrow pointing upwards with an A to represent Asia.
Another reason it's important to have a Symbol instead of text is because no matter how young or old a person is or what language they speak most people can very easily remember a Symbol as non-text Symbols transcend language barriers, Mercedes-Bens, McDonalds, Apple, Nike and others speak to this.
The more a person remembers the symbol the more impact it has and the more they will connect with the brand which according to a study from 2018 "57% of consumers say they will up their spending with a brand they feel connected to.".
Further, other research has found that "Customers who have an emotional bond with a brand are over 50% more valuable than highly satisfied customers.".
