My friend Jin Yang (@jzy) wrote an excellent post about how Apple’s brand is instantly recognizable by style and build quality, even when the Apple logo is obscured. It reminds me of this quote:
It is only by association with a product, a service, a business, or a corporation that a logo takes on any real meaning. It derives its meaning and usefulness from the quality of that which it symbolizes. If a company is second rate, the logo will eventually be perceived as second rate. It is foolhardy to believe that a logo will do its job right off, before an audience has been properly conditioned.
— Paul Rand in Logos, Flags, and Escutcheons
Apple is a perfect example of quality being fractal. Their hardware is:
- Beautiful.
- Stylistically unique. (As Jin said, you can always tell Apple hardware, even without the logo. In fact, when you see a beautiful aluminum laptop on TV with an obscured logo it’s jarring, like a break in the suspension of disbelief.)
- Stylistically consistent. (Even though the look changes, you can always identify Apple hardware. Each redesign is unique, but the continuum of the product lines makes sense.)
- Opinionated. (With the Magic Mouse and new MacBook trackpads they’ve achieved zero button zen.)
- Pushes boundaries. (You get a sense that Apple fights complacency more than it fight competitors.)
- Consistently high quality.
Removing brand marks is a great test of a product’s quality. Strip away the branding and is the product recognizable? Does the quality of the brand shine through without a logo?
I’d say the style and quality are the key factors in brand recognition. It’s like how you instantly know you’re watching a Tim Burton movie, even if you start in the middle. It’s also why previews of The Fantastic Mr. Fox from Wes Anderson don’t feel like a Wes Anderson movie, while The Royal Tenenbaums and Rushmore do.
Mr. Fox is also new and untested, which shows the importance of the unfolding of quality over time. It trains users to both trust you and look forward to what you do next.