Information design is the defining of the requirements governing the selecting, rendering, and transmission of information for the purpose of knowledge transfer as well as the optimization of the information with respect to these requirements. In the case of econymic information, the knowledge transfer is determined by and linked to the respective markets.This paper examines its role in brand management and brand communication.branding; brand names; design; econymy

Nedobity, Wolfgang

English

Research Papers in Economics

  1
Econymic information design 
Its role in brand management and brand communication 
 
Wolfgang Nedobity 
 
Introduction 
 
Econymy is a branch of onomastics and was created as a term for the scientific theory that 
forms the background for the practical activity of branding [Platen]. 
Branding is a key element of company policy: it is essential for holding on to or acquiring 
market shares. The businessman's tasks are not confined to organization and production. A 
company's goods and services, as well as its image, must be visible on the market. The brand 
is an indispensable instrument for communicating with the public. It enriches and enhances 
the consumer's relationship with the goods and services by associating distinctive values with 
them. The brand mark does not just identify the origin of goods: it establishes a relationship 
with the consumer based on trust by staking the company's reputation and offering a 
guarantee of consistent quality. A trademark is a capital good. It can be commercially 
exploited by licensing, franchising, merchandising and sponsorship. As a marketing tool it 
may even constitute the company's main asset.  
Brand management involves designing brand identities, monitoring brand effectiveness, and 
making any alterations to the brand identity if deemed necessary. The strategic management 
of a particular brand aims at the maintenance or increase of brand equity [Vaid]. 
Brand communication conveys the information pertaining to a brand in various ways. Besides 
factual information, as usually contained in press releases, there is also a more condensed 
information transfer taking place in advertising and in direct consumer interaction. The 
attributes necessary for this procedure are achieved by econymic information coding. 
Communication attributes are extrinsic characteristics that suggest descriptively, figuratively, 
or evocatively what the brand is like. These attributes are associational and provide definition 
of the brand as a personality in encoded form. Brand personality builds on the emotional 
appeal of brands and is the medium through which these are expressed in brand 
communication [Esch]. Information design is the defining of the requirements governing the 
selecting, rendering, and transmission of information for the purpose of knowledge transfer as 
well as the optimization of the information with respect to these requirements [Jacobson]. In 
the case of econymic information, the knowledge transfer is determined by and linked to the 
respective markets. 
1 Brand name creation 
Successful brand names typically follow four stages of creation: analysis of requirements, 
design, development, and testing. Understanding and using effective practices for each stage 
allows name designers to maximize a name’s probability of success [Elvidge]. 
Requirements 
In formal processes, requirements are gathered through market research, customer feedback, 
determination of target groups and cultural appropriateness. Informally, design requirements 
are often derived from direct knowledge or experience, formally from database consultation. 
Design 
This stage is where design requirements are translated into a form that yields a set of coding 
specifications. Excellent design is usually accomplished through careful research of existing 
or analogous solutions, active brainstorming, ample use and testing of prototypes and tuning 
concepts. A selection of possible specifications for coding techniques is given in chapter 2.   2
Development 
The development stage is where design specifications are transformed into an actual name by 
reducing the variability in the options and by applying creative skills in an iterative mode. 
Design iteration occurs when creating and refining design concepts. Each cycle in the design 
process narrows the wide range of possibilities until the name conforms to the design 
requirements. The outcome of design iteration is a detailed and well researched specification 
that it reflected by the final name. 
Testing 
The testing stage is where the name is tested to ensure that it meets design requirements and 
specifications, and will be accepted by the target clientel. Whether tests are deemed a success 
or failure is irrelevant in design iteration, since both success and failure provide important 
information about what does and does not work. In the case of failure, however, the name 
goes back to its development stage. 
2 Coding techniques and their specifications 
 
Unless indicated otherwise, the examples are taken from the Dictionary of Trade Name 
Origins [Room]. 
 
Aesthetics 
 
Aesthetic information codes are perceived as more tempting to use than less aesthetic codes. 
This effect has significant implications regarding the acceptance, use, and performance of the 
information concerned. For instance, it is common for people to remember and develop 
feelings toward brand names that fostered positive attitutes (e.g. delight of a sound) and 
unusual for people to do the same with names that have fostered negative attitudes. Such 
personal and positive relationships with a name design evoke feelings of affection, loyalty, 
and patience – all significant factors in the long-term usability and overall success of a brand. 
They are more readily accepted and used over time, and promote creative thinking and 
tolerance towards the product. 
e.g.: Dolcis, Goya, Ladybird 
 
Archetypes 
 
As C.G. Jung pointed out, archetypes are a product of unconscious biases and dispositions 
that have been hardwired in the brain over the course of human evolution.. Since these innate 
biases and dispositions are unconscious , their existence is inferred when common patterns 
emerge in many cultures over long periods. Identifying and aligning appropriate archetypes 
with an information code will increase its probability of success. Archetypal themes can be 
applied to all aspects of information design – from form and function to name and brand. 
e.g.: Ivory (innocent), Nike (hero)[Mark]. 
 
Chunking 
 
The term chunk refers to a unit of information in short term memory: a string of letters, a 
word, or a series of numbers. The technique of chunking seeks to accommodate short-term 
memory limits by formating information into a small number of units. The maximum number 
of chunks that can be efficiently processed by short-term memory is four, plus or minus one. 
e.g.: Day-Glo, Odo-Ro-No 
   3
Conditioning 
 
Conditioning influences the appeal of a code or specific kinds of behaviour. Repeated pairings 
of a brand name with a trigger stimulus will condition an association over time. Examples of 
positive trigger stimuli include anything that causes pleasure or evokes a positive emotional 
response – a picture of food, a sound, a fragrance or the images of attractive people. 
e.g.: Marlboro 
 
Closure 
 
Whenever possible, people tend to perceive a set of individual elements as a single, 
recognizable pattern, rather than multiple, individual elements. The tendency to perceive a 
single pattern is so strong that people will close gaps and fill in missing information to 
complete the pattern if necessary. Elements in text and graphics can be minimized or omitted 
to allow viewers to participate in the completion of the pattern. The result is a more 
interesting code. The principle of closure enables designers to reduce complexity of names by 
reducing the number of elements needed to organize and communicate the concept. 
e.g.: Vimto, Ryvita, Disprin 
 
Cognitive dissonance 
 
Cognitive dissonance is applied in the design of advertising and marketing attempts or any 
other context where influence and persuasion is the aim such as in branding. It is mainly used 
when attempting to change beliefs. It should engage people to invest their attention in 
detecting dissonant cognitions, and then provide simple and immediate mechanisms to 
alleviate the dissonance. When using compensation to reinforce change, the minimal 
compensation possible is to be applied. 
e.g.: Grape Nuts, Ex-Lax 
 
Consistency 
 
Enterprises frequently use consistency to provide customers with the same experience across 
many products or services. This consistency improves brand recognition , reduces costs, and 
establishes a relationship with customers that extends beyond any single subbrand. Aesthetic 
and functional consistency is to be considered in all aspects of brand design. It establishes 
unique identities that can be easily recognized. Internal consistency of a brand with its 
subbrands cultivates trust with people; it is an indicator that a product has been designed, and 
not cobbled together. Thus it shares the same level of quality as the other elements in the 
product group. 
e.g.: Land-Rover & Range Rover, Coca Cola & Coke 
 
Convergence 
 
Product analogies often reveal new possibilities for name design. One can make use of the 
fact that similar characteristics evolve independantly in different environments. Stable 
environments with convergent name designs are receptive to minor innovations and 
refinements but resist radical departures from established uses. Unstable brand environments 
with no convergent naming systems are receptive to major innovations and experimentation, 
but offer little guidance as to which code may or may not be successful. Thus it is advisable to 
focus on variations of convergent name designs in stable brand environments, and explore   4
analogies with other environments and product classes for guidance when designing for new 
or unstable brand environments. 
e.g.: Kiwi, Eden Vale, Elf 
 
Depth of processing 
 
There is a phenemenon of memory in which information that is analyzed deeply is better 
recalled than information that is analyzed superficially. This is also true of the information 
contained in a brand name. 
The key determining factors as to how well a brand name is remembered are its 
distinctiveness, its relevance and the degree to which its message is elaborated. 
Distinctiveness refers to the uniqueness of the name relative to surrounding names and 
previously encountered names also referred to as the von Restorff effect. Relevance refers to 
the degree to which the product or service is perceived to be important. The degree of 
elaboration refers to how much thought is required to interpret and understand the name. 
Generally the degree of deep processing of the information contained in a name that is 
necessary or simply triggered by its confrontation determines its power of recall and retention. 
It is to be supplemented by other mnemonic devices. 
e.g.: 4711, Cerebos 
 
Distortion 
 
The external form of the name is changed for various reasons, but the information contained 
in the concept remains the same. 
e.g. Put-U-Up, Ovaltine (for phonetic reasons), Rawlplug, Caran d’Ache 
 
Creative needs 
 
In order for a name design to be successful, it must meet people’s basic needs before it can 
attempt to satisfy higher level needs. The key levels of needs related to names are: reliability, 
usability, and creativity. The latter is the level in this hierarchy where people begin interacting 
with the name design in innovative ways. The name, having satisfied all the other needs, is 
then used to create and explore areas that extend both beyond its design and the person using 
it. Name designs at this level are perceived to be of the highest value, and often achieve cult-
like loyalty among users. 
e.g.: England’s Glory, KitKat 
 
Mimicry 
 
Mimicry is perhaps the oldest and most efficient method for achieving familiarity in coding. It 
copies properties of familiar objects, organisms, or environments in order to realize specific 
benefits afforded by those properties. In name design the mimicry of familiar sounds is most 
popular in socalled onomatopoetic designs. 
e.g.: Marmite, Muzak 
   5
Mnemonic device 
 
Mnemonic devices are used to reorganize information so that the information is simpler and 
more meaningful and, therefore, more easily remembered. They involve the use of words or 
syllables in specific ways to link unfamiliar information to familiar information that resides in 
memory. The creative use of the following mnemonic devices can dramatically influence 
recall: 
-  the first letters of items to be recalled are used to form first letters in a meaningful 
phrase, or combined to form an acronym. 
-  a word that is similar to, or a subset of, a word or phrase that is linked to a familiar 
bridging image to aid in recall. 
-  one or more words in a phrase are linked to other words in the phrase through rhyming 
schemes to aid in recall. 
-  a word that is related to one or more features of something that is linked to a familiar 
bridging image to aid in recall. 
When developing corporate and product identities, the ease of recall of the brand name is 
critical to success. 
e.g.: Teasmade, Tizer, Vileda 
 
Similarity 
 
Elements that are similar are perceived to be more related than elements that are dissimilar. 
The grouping resulting from similarity reduces complexity and reinforces the relatedness of 
design elements. Conversely, a lack of similarity results in the perception of multiple, 
disparate chunks, and reinforces differences among the elements. Similarity of sound is one of 
the strongest grouping effects. 
e.g.: Do-Do, Yo-Yo, Handy Andy 
 
Simplicity 
 
Simplicity is achieved when each user can easily understand and use the brand name, 
regardless of experience, literacy, or education level. Steps of improving simplicity are: avoid 
unnecessary length, allow clear and consistent pronunciation as well as spelling. 
e.g.:Harp, Jell-O, K 
 
Symmetry 
 
Symmetry has long been associated with beauty, and is a property found in virtually all forms 
in nature. There are three basic types of symmetry: reflection, rotation, and translation. These 
compositions are perceived as simpler and more stable, but perhaps less interesting than 
asymmetrical compositions.Symetrical compositions are to be favoured when efficiency of 
use is the priority, and asymmetrical ones when interestingness is the priority. 
e.g.: Oxo, Uhu, Aga, Omo 
 
Von Restorff effect 
 
It explores the phenomenon of memory in which noticeably different coding sequences are 
more likely to be recalled than common sequences. The von Restorff effect is primarily the 
result of the increased attention given to the distinctive items in a set, where a set may be a 
sequence of syllables or signs. Unusual words with unusual spellings are popular as names for   6
unique brands utilizing the mnemonic effect to promote brand recognition and product sales. 
The von Restorff effect occurs when there is a stimulus different from surrounding stimuli or 
a stimulus different from experiences in memory, such as a numeral in a sequence of letters. 
e.g.: 7-Up, 3M, Trac II 
 
References 
 
[ Elvidge ] Elvidge, S.; Nedobity, W.: What’s in a name? Partnering Focus 2(4), April 2004, 
p.5-6 
 
[ Esch ] Esch, F.R.: Strategie und Technik der Markenführung. München, 2003, p.216-249 
 
[Jacobson] Jacobson, R.E.: Information Design. Cambridge, MA, 1999, 373 p. 
 
[ Mark ] Mark, M.; Pearson, C.S.: The Hero and the Outlaw. Building Extraordinary Brands 
Through the Power of Archetypes. London/New York etc.,2001, p.13 
 
[ Platen ] Platen, C.: Ökonymie. Zur Produktnamen-Linguistik im Europäischen Binnenmarkt. 
Tübingen, 1997 (Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für Romanische Philologie, Band 280), p.8 
 
[ Room ] Room, A.: NTC’s Dictionary of Trade Name Origins. Rev.ed. Lincolnwood, 1991, 
217 p. 
 
[ Vaid ] Vaid, H.: Branding. London, 2003, p.42 

Econymic Information Design

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Research Papers in Economics