The Power Of Three

Let’s play a little game. Clip out 10 brand or company logos, or any visual representation of an event. Lay them out in a row and choose three that catch your attention instantly. So what did you select? Judging from what you have lined up, I imagine that there are reasons for these choices. I am pretty sure there is no conspicuous mold coming into view.

Some of the logos have lots of elements and some have very little. Some use shouting colors, some opt to be pale. Some apply modern fonts while some go for classic typography. Some you reject outright, prompted perhaps by a deep-rooted psychological trigger embedded into your subconscious, and some you accept with a twinkling of an eye because of the same motivation. You may not instantaneously realize it, but the positive or negative effects sparked off by this mini exercise can provide leads in the way you do your marketing and communication.

The Power Of Three

What you have gone through demonstrates the magic of three. Two, you may say is company, but in marketing communication, you can go all the way to three and still have a rollicking party. This is no blind claim. It has a psychological basis. The human brain finds it relatively easy to grasp three components – elements, colors and fonts. As Sean D’Souza explains, "Push that marginally up to four and it gets confused where to look and what to do, and sends the eye scampering like a frisky puppy on a sunny day."

Why is this so? Maybe you can flashback to when you are growing up and remember that a lot of things that you need to learn seem to be anchored on number three – 1, 2, 3; A, B, C; 3 Rs (reading, ‘riting and ‘rithmetic); 3 blind mice (see how they run); 3 Little Pigs; The 3 Magi, and the Holy Trinity.

In the world of crime you ran across the Triads, or the Chinese secret societies that function as drug syndicates, whose name is represented by a triangle symbolizing three basic concepts in Chinese philosophy – heaven, earth and man. In literature you encountered Anton Chekov’s play – Three Sisters (Olga, Masha, Irina), Shakepeare’s The Three Daughters of King Lear, and Alexander Dumas’ novel, The Three Musketeers (Athos, Porthos, Aramis).

In movies and television, you came face to face with The Three Marx Brothers, Three’s Company, The Three Stooges, The Three Faces of Eve, and My Three Sons. In philosophy, you had a brush with concepts like The Threefold Aim of Art and The Three Keys to Happiness at Work. Or how can you forget The Three Stages of Childhood and The Three Parts of the Psyche in your psychology classes.

Visual Communication

Art directors and visualizers agree that the components in designing logos, trademarks, or any other visual symbols can be reduced to three features. The first part is composed of what are called the elements or a group of objects put together to form a common definable shape. For example, your eyes, nose, mouth and ears are the main objects that form the element called the face. What you do with the objects determine the fate of your design, which can either be a rejection or acceptance from whoever is reviewing it.

The second part comprise your fonts, also known as typefaces. They are a unique aspect of style since they add representational qualities directly to words or letters, which of course by themselves already convey meaning. A font can be given a particular shape in order to create certain perceptions. Tall, narrow letters with precise serifs project elegance; rounded, full letters without serifs communicate friendliness.

Handwritten fonts convey people-orientation and an unthreatening, low-key identity, while cursive rather than print letters reveal a fancy and celebratory feeling. Choices such as whether to use capital or lower case letters matter as well. Capital letters signal authority and aggressiveness, but use of all lower case letters bring a daring, understated impression.

The third component is the use of color. Here you should show some restraint. Color managing your palette with just three hues can often provide a feeling of as many as five or six colors, when moved around a bit. You can make color the major focus of your design identity by using a single distinctive color or a combination of colors that can efficiently capture the mood and feel you want to impart.

Reds, oranges and yellows mean energy and extroversion, while greens, blues, and purples project calm and introversion. Black and white represent extremes of saturation and often of brightness. Black is perceived as dark and mysterious, while white is seen as sunny, happy, active, and sometimes as pure and innocent.

Logo Case Studies

Against this backdrop, get the chance to examine the design of two logos that will be very visible as two major communication industry events unfold – the Big Idea of the 18th Philippine Advertising Congress, and Building Relationships of the 11th National PR Congress.

The Big Idea logo was created by Benedicto Cabrera, more popularly known as Bencab. Working together with J. Walter Thompson (JWT) creatives, the multi-awarded artist and virtuoso, came up with a stylized "question mark" to dramatize his interpretation of the message of this year’s biggest advertising event to be held in Camp John Hay, Baguio City from November 19 to 22.

Looking carefully at the logo though, you can see that it’s more than just a literal question mark. It forms a human face concealed under said visual element. "The logo embodies the big ideas that advertising people come up with," Bencab rationalizes. "With this design, I am able to effectively put in art and advertising in perfect harmony," he adds.

Others look at Bencab’s design as a key that unlocks doors, allowing the free flow of big ideas by beginning to ponder to ask, to think. And the question that one poses eventually becomes the key to the elusive answers. What’s your take on Bencab’s creation? How does it fare against the Power of Three test?

The PR Congress logo, on the other hand, carries the theme Building Relationships for a Better World. It was masterfully designed by Carlos "Caloy" Trinidad, executive director of Chopsuey Graphics, who also does a lot of advertising art direction and painting. The logo, as Caloy describes, "is circular – blue as a cloudless sky, seamless and unending. It represents the PR man’s world of dreams: a place where relationships are solid, strong and sincere – for a better world."

The design is basically a world surrounded with bright stars in varying sizes. With mouth agape, the PR man looks up, files, and stretches out his arms towards this world which is almost within his reach. Both Caloy and Jones Campos of Globe Telecom, PRSP vice president and the 11th PR Congress chair believe that this image will provide the visual stimulus that can make its intended audiences get themselves listed for the conference scheduled on September 24 to 26 at EDSA Shangri-La Hotel. Again what is your take on Caloy’s handiwork? What score does it merit?

Listen to the psychology behind the Power of Three, and experience a more tasteful and tasty "marketing and business communication dish" that can make your target markets salivate.

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E-mail bongo@vasia.com or bongo@campaignsan dgrey.net for comments/suggestions.