A Systematic Analysis of Non-accidental Visual-Spatial Properties in Chinese Brand Names and Their Esthetic Associations

Abstract

Despite the vast and growing body of literature on brand naming, most theories and principles were developed in Western markets and based on Western languages, and therefore have limited application in a Chinese-speaking context. Building on the psychogeometric theory, this study systematically examined the role of non-accidental visual-spatial properties of ‘symmetry’ and ‘closure’ in Chinese brand names. A content analysis of 15,065 newly registered Chinese brands was first conducted to reveal the pattern of visual spatial properties in Chinese brand names. This is followed by a survey study of 760 non-Chinese speaking participants about their perceptions of the visual spatial properties of the Chinese brand names. It was found that Chinese brand names utilized a high proportion of symmetry but a low proportion of closure, with their distributions varying significantly across product categories. The survey results further indicate that Chinese brand names possessing these two visual properties triggered specific esthetic associations and were believed to be more appropriate for certain product categories. These findings are useful for new brands seeking visual-spatial cues with which to positively influence consumers’ perceptual processing and judgments.

Keywords:

• Esthetic association
• Chinese brand names
• closure
• non-accidental properties
• symmetry
• visual-spatial properties

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (Project Reference No.: UGC/FDS14/B08/19).

Notes on contributors

Fanny Fong Yee Chan

Fanny Fong Yee Chan is an Associate Professor and Head of Department of Marketing, School of Business, The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong. Her research interests include marketing communications, consumer psychology, sustainable consumption and psycholinguistics. Her work has been published in European Journal of Marketing, International Marketing Review, International Journal of Advertising, Journal of Advertising Research, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Product and Brand Management, Journal of Marketing Communications, Journal of Promotion Management, Marketing Intelligence and Planning, The Marketing Review, and others.