A Study on the Characteristics of Logos in Inner Wear Brand

이너 웨어(Inner Wear) 로고의 특성에 관한 연구

  • Lee, Min-Gyung (Dept. of Fashion Coordination, Suwon Women's College) ;
  • Rha, Soo-Im (Dept. of Fashion Design, Sangmyung University)
  • 이민경 (수원여자대학 패션코디네이션과) ;
  • 나수임 (상명대학교 의상디자인학과)
  • Published : 2006.10.31

Abstract

This study analyzed features of elements that compose a logo of inner wear brands to get the following results: First, it was found that "elegance" was the most frequently used word to express the concept of inner wear brands to be followed by words like dignity, high-end and aristocratic, words emphasizing femininity, such as feminine, romantic and sexy, words emphasizing practicality, such as convenient, practical, modern, functional and reasonable, and words emphasizing hygiene, such as clean, healthy and hygienic. This suggests that consumers nowadays pursue image more than functional aspects in the shopping of inner wear and consumers' pursuit of such values is reflected in the concept of inner wear brands. Second, unlike logos for outerwear brands that generally used initials of brand name, word-type logos for inner wear brands used the full name of brands, thus suggesting that they put more emphasis on delivery of information rather than on the symbolic aspect. In case of combining characters with concrete objects, they were found generally to use objects that give an soft, elegant and feminine image, such as flowers, woman's head and ribbons. Third, colors in the series of pink and red seemed to be used to convey the concept of inner wear brands that pursue such images as romanticism, femininity, elegance and sensibility, while colors in the series of blue, black and grey for such concepts as functionality, practicality, simplicity, health, hygiene and refinement. With reference to typeface used in the design of logos, unlike outerwear brands of which 83% use sans serif typeface for logos, relatively high percentage of inner wear was found to use typefaces of serif series to stress feminine flexibility and delicacy and give the image of elegance and classical tenderness. With reference to language used in logo naming for inner wear brands, 33 brands were found to use English and only three brands used Korean among the 36 brands surveyed. Even with inner wear brand logos that have Korean name, it was found that they used English in the use of logo marks. Like the result of previous studies, the result of this study indicates that methods to design brand logos for clothing should be incessantly sought in a way to build brand power as an important component to represent concept or function of brands and reinforce brand image.

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