LogoLounge Master Library, Volume 3

Job:02383 Title: Logolouge Master Library Vol 3 (Rockport)

Page: 24

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Job:02383 Title: Logolouge Master Library Vol 3 (Rockport)

Page: 24

012-029 02383.indd 24 1/26/11 1:42 PM

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The Visual

ILLUSION

Hans Hulsbosch,

Hulsbosch, Communication by Design

My role was to articulate their vision. Not just

through a catchy logo or a different typeface, but

to develop a symbol that was indicative of the

values and beliefs of Woolworths. It had to be an

identity for the entire business that could be

implemented on signage, packaging, T-shirts,

posters, private label products, websites,

advertising campaigns, and everything else a

customer comes in contact with.

Hans Hulsbosch was born in the

Netherlands and worked in Amsterdam before

moving to Sydney, Australia, in 1979. He was the

creative director of Clemenger BBDO until 1985

and opened his own company, Hulsbosch,

Communication by Design, in 1986. He has

created many of Australia’s iconic brands, such

as Qantas, Woolworths, Foxtel, MLC, and

Taronga Zoo. He is the only designer to receive

the Telstra Small Business Entrepreneur of the

Year Award. Recently, he received the Australian

Marketing Institute Award for marketing excel-

lence, and his company won the 2009/10

AdNews Specialist Agency of the Year.

Why are shapes and symbols so powerful in

people’s minds?

>

Shapes and symbols that speak to us help to

articulate our values, because often they identify

the products and/or services we want to engage

with. Excellent symbols refl ect what we see as

important in our lives. A successful symbol

triggers an emotional response by neatly

identifying the range of thought and sentiment it

has to convey.

Thus the most powerful symbol is a shape that

acts as an allusion, an indirect reference to a

personal experience. The power of symbols lies

in the apparent simplicity of the work. A symbol

only needs to hint at a specifi c event in our lives

and it does not take too much before we start to

associate the symbol with that event.

Can you give an example of how this works

in your design?

>

Elements of design that are important and

communicate signifi cant messages are color,

line, and shape. We all associate colors with

human emotions; we even use color in our

language, for example we might say someone is

feeling blue or is red with anger.

Our association with shapes is so strong and yet

so subtle that it does not take a lot of imagination

to assign it a specifi c meaning. For example,

when we are confronted with rounded shapes we

tend to feel warm and fuzzy. Yet we react very

differently when we encounter angular and sharp

forms. Let me explain with an identity that I have

been very closely involved with: Woolworths.

Thus the most

powerful symbol is

a shape that acts as

an allusion, an indirect

reference to a

personal

experience.

=