Brand Aesthetics

by Mazzalovo, Gérald

• ISBN13: 9780230336735
• ISBN10: 0230336736
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-08-21
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

Explores the growing importance of aesthetic factors in the success of brands and the reluctance of brand managers and academics to deal with these issues. Proposes a series of theoretical and practical managerial instruments which analyze the aesthetic aspects of various brand manifestations.

Author Biography

Grald Mazzalovo is Managing Partner at Aravis S.A., a private equity firm active in luxury brands. He is also Visiting Professor at Instituto de Empresa (Madrid), Universit Paris-Dauphine and Universit Lumire in Lyon. A former consultant at Arthur Andersen, he has held the position of President or CEO at luxury brand companies such as Ferragamo, Loewe, Bally and Clergerie, and has consulted for many multinational firms, including Pininfarina, on strategic brand management. He is the author of numerous articles on brands and co-author of the books Pro Logo and Luxury Brand Management.

Table of Contents

List of Tables and Figures	p. x
Foreword	p. xiv
Acknowledgements	p. xvi
Introduction	p. 1
Brand Aesthetics: Theory and Direct Applications
Brand Aesthetics: An Oxymoron?	p. 11
Introduction to the concept	p. 11
The contribution of Jean-Marie Floch	p. 12
The Relevance of the Concept	p. 16
The impact of the sensory world on consumer attitudes	p. 16
Aesthetic dimensions of objects and services	p. 18
Influence of the visual appearance of products and spaces on consumers	p. 20
Aesthetic experience	p. 21
The aesthetization of the everyday	p. 23
Plastic differentiation	p. 23
Convergence of art and brands	p. 26
Dandyism	p. 30
Managerial implications of the concept	p. 32
Communication issues	p. 32
Creation issues	p. 33
Organizational issues	p. 33
Cultural issues	p. 34
Conclusions on the relevance of brand aesthetics	p. 35
Postmodern consumption	p. 35
Emergence of the postmodern brand	p. 36
Historical Foundations: From Experimental Aesthetics to Postmodernism	p. 37
Experimental aesthetics	p. 37
Fechner	p. 38
The heirs of Fechner	p. 38
Berlyne	p. 40
Business and aesthetics	p. 41
Product design	p. 42
Artificial intelligence and computer-aided design	p. 43
Brand aesthetics	p. 44
Postmodernism and the aesthetics of consumption	p. 44
Art history	p. 45
Brand Identity	p. 47
The semiotic nature of brands	p. 47
The notion of invariance	p. 48
Dynamic coherence of identity	p. 49
The need for brand evolution	p. 51
Brand ethics and aesthetics: The EST-ET© diagram	p. 53
Communication chain and brand manifestations	p. 55
Communication chain	p. 55
Brand manifestations	p. 56
Four areas of brand aesthetics	p. 60
More-or-less explicit meaning	p. 61
Style	p. 64
The creative process	p. 64
Non-identification of aesthetic invariants	p. 66
Facts of style and facts of fashion	p. 68
Kunstwollen	p. 68
Figurative and plastic meanings	p. 68
Baroque and classical styles	p. 72
Independence from the historical period	p. 74
Full semiotics	p. 74
The 'baroquization' of daily life	p. 78
The Chain of Brand Aesthetics	p. 83
Limitations of the semiotic approach	p. 83
The dialectics of brand identity	p. 84
The three ends of aesthetic treatments	p. 84
The decorative/ornamental end	p. 85
The functional end	p. 86
The representational end	p. 86
Diagram of the chain of brand aesthetics	p. 90
Methodology for an audit of brand communication	p. 92
Conclusions on brand aesthetics	p. 94
Brand Aesthetics: Applications to Linear Aesthetic Expressions
Lines and Forms	p. 101
Space, time, force, movement and expression	p. 103
Concretization of lines	p. 103
Strokes	p. 104
Boundary between two areas	p. 104
Axis of an element	p. 105
Axis of composition	p. 106
Linear expression and baroque style	p. 106
The Relevance of Lines in Brand Aesthetic Management	p. 108
Recent examples of relevant linear aesthetic treatment	p. 110
Citroën logo	p. 110
Gucci fragrances	p. 112
Caisse d'Epargne logo	p. 113
Zippo Blu lighter	p. 114
Managerial implications	p. 114
Marketing optimization	p. 115
Adjustment of the brand identity	p. 116
Understanding trends	p. 116
Organizational benefits	p. 117
A brief literature review	p. 117
Experimental studies of simple geometric shapes	p. 117
Computer-aided design (CAD)	p. 119
Semiotics	p. 120
Other literature	p. 122
The Semiotic Square of Linearity	p. 123
Four basic linear plastic elements	p. 123
Straight, angular and curved lines	p. 123
The sinuous line	p. 124
Mathematics of the four lines	p. 128
Degree of complexity	p. 130
The SINC© square	p. 133
The semiotic square	p. 133
The square of linearity	p. 135
Relations of complementarity	p. 136
History of the tangent	p. 139
Possible Meanings of the Four Lines	p. 141
Semantic considerations	p. 142
Straight	p. 142
Angular	p. 143
Sinuous	p. 143
Rounded	p. 144
From figurative to symbolic and plastic meanings	p. 145
The straight line	p. 145
The angular line	p. 146
The sinuous line	p. 146
The single-curved line	p. 147
Questions of conviction	p. 147
Triangle, square and circle	p. 148
Symbolic meanings	p. 149
The straight line	p. 150
The angular line	p. 150
The sinuous line	p. 150
The single-curved line	p. 151
Plastic meanings and more	p. 151
Riegl: Organic and crystalline styles	p. 153
Worringer: Empathy and abstraction	p. 159
Joly: The instinct of forms	p. 161
Arnheim: Lines and concepts	p. 162
Solomon: Attempt at a plastic grammar	p. 166
Managerial Applications of the SINC© Square	p. 168
Summary of the meanings structured by the SINC© square	p. 168
Semantic nuclei	p. 168
Operating precautions	p. 170
Gradients of signification	p. 170
Examples of applications of the SINC© square	p. 171
Mercedes	p. 171
SAP	p. 173
Gehry's bench	p. 175
Analytical methodology of linear brand manifestations	p. 178
Meaningful linear differential gaps	p. 179
Forms of coherence	p. 179
Other applications of the SINC© square	p. 181
Consumers' Preferences for the Four Lines	p. 183
Research hypotheses	p. 183
General question on the existence of preferences for certain linear aspects	p. 184
Hypotheses of links between gender and consumer preferences for lines	p. 184
Research methodology	p. 185
Conceptual design of the survey	p. 185
Method of paired preferences	p. 186
Likert scale from 1 to 5	p. 187
The SINC© square	p. 187
Choice of visual stimuli	p. 187
Software support	p. 191
Composition of the sample	p. 191
Responses to the general question on the: existence of preferences for certain linear aspects and discussion	p. 192
The degree of complexity of the lines	p. 194
The 'baroquization' of daily life	p. 195
Postmodern trend	p. 196
Results for the hypothesis of the correlation between gender and preferences for lines	p. 197
Other results	p. 198
Examples of managerial use of the research results and methodology	p. 199
Paul Smith fragrances	p. 200
Zippo lighters	p. 201
Intel logo	p. 203
Chewing gum	p. 204
Limits of the investigation and future research	p. 204
Methodological limitations	p. 204
Conceptual limitations	p. 205
Conclusions	p. 206
Notes	p. 211
Bibliography	p. 212
Index	p. 219
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