Chromatic Identity in Global and Local Markets: Analysis of Colours in Branding
José Luis Caivano and Mabel Amanda López
Secretaría de Investigaciones, Facultad de Arquitectura, Diseño y Urbanismo, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Ciudad Universitaria Pab. 3 piso 4, C1428BFA Buenos Aires, Argentina
Summary
Colour, in its use as identity, is symbolically codified. However, other non-chromatic factors influence the way colour is interpreted in different social environments. The formulation of a chromatic identity includes considerations of identity and differentiation, as well as tradition and innovation. The expansion of companies and institutions in the global market often involves the transposition of their chromatic signs. Local connotations may resignify or neutralise the values attributed to branding and identities. Colour is a central feature of the globalisation of brands, so it is interesting to study chromatic identity as an aspect of visual semiotics, because, as a sign, colour seems to be more ‘transparent’ in its meaning than written texts or even certain iconographies.
Main Sections
- Introduction
- Designed Identity: At the Service of the Global Market
- Colour: A Global Sign?
- Identity in Metamorphosis: An Imperial Rainbow?
- Chromatic Identity
- The Strategy of the Chameleon
- Conclusion: Strategies in Colour Branding
This article is a revised and expanded version of a presentation given at the International Colour Association (AIC) Congress at Johannesburg, South Africa, October 2006.
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Citation
José Luis Caivano and Mabel Amanda López, Chromatic Identity in Global and Local Markets: Analysis of Colours in Branding, Colour: Design & Creativity (1) (2007) 3: 1–14.
URL: http://www.colour-journal.org/2007/1/3/
