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- Title
- THE EVOLUTION OF U.S. CORPORATE LOGOS:A SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS.
- Creator
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Cowin, Erica, Matusitz, Jonathan, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
The purpose of this study is to examine the evolution of six U.S. corporate logos Apple, McDonald's, Nike, Pepsi, Shell, and Starbucks from each logo's inception until the newest version of the graphic emblem today. The objective is to determine the meanings that logos have for a corporation's identity, mission, and relationships, as well as the messages that logos convey to viewers (i.e., mostly customers). By "evolution" of logos here, the researcher means "ongoing transformation" of...
Show moreThe purpose of this study is to examine the evolution of six U.S. corporate logos Apple, McDonald's, Nike, Pepsi, Shell, and Starbucks from each logo's inception until the newest version of the graphic emblem today. The objective is to determine the meanings that logos have for a corporation's identity, mission, and relationships, as well as the messages that logos convey to viewers (i.e., mostly customers). By "evolution" of logos here, the researcher means "ongoing transformation" of logos. The semiotic model used in this analysis is Charles Sanders Peirce's (1958 ) semiotic framework. Peircean semiotics is made up of a three-part paradigm of signification: the representamen (or the sign itself), the object (or "referent" what the sign refers to), and the interpretant (the effect on the viewer, or the viewer's interpretation). Based on the semiotic data on logo evolution, the researcher found six main themes that emerged across the analyses of U.S. corporate logos. These themes are (1) Direction toward the Future, (2) Identity with Viewers, (3) Instant Recognition and Distinctiveness, (4) Consistency throughout Evolution, (5) Invocation of Change, and (6) True Representation of Corporate Identity. The ultimate conclusion of this analysis is that the communicative intent of a company, through its logo, tends to take a long time to develop. A successful logo is one that portrays the true objectives and principles of a company. For this reason, the ideal identity of a corporation tends to be built over a long period of time, which makes logo improvement "evolutionary" in nature. In all six cases, communication plays a major part in logo improvement.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2011
- Identifier
- CFE0003597, ucf:48885
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003597
- Title
- TOWARDS CALIBRATION OF OPTICAL FLOW OF CROWD VIDEOS USING OBSERVED TRAJECTORIES.
- Creator
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Elbadramany, Iman, Kaup, David, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
The need exists for finding a quantitative method for validating crowd simulations. One approach is to use optical flow of videos of real crowds to obtain velocities that can be used for comparison to simulations. Optical flow, in turn, needs to be calibrated to be useful. It is essential to show that optical flow velocities obtained from crowd videos can be mapped into the spatially averaged velocities of the observed trajectories of crowd members, and to quantify the extent of the...
Show moreThe need exists for finding a quantitative method for validating crowd simulations. One approach is to use optical flow of videos of real crowds to obtain velocities that can be used for comparison to simulations. Optical flow, in turn, needs to be calibrated to be useful. It is essential to show that optical flow velocities obtained from crowd videos can be mapped into the spatially averaged velocities of the observed trajectories of crowd members, and to quantify the extent of the correlation of the results. This research investigates methods to uncover the best conditions for a good correlation between optical flow and the average motion of individuals in crowd videos, with the aim that this will help in the quantitative validation of simulations. The first approach was to use a simple linear proportionality relation, with a single coefficient, alpha, between velocity vector of the optical flow and observed velocity of crowd members in a video or simulation. Since there are many variables that affect alpha, an attempt was made to find the best possible conditions for determining alpha, by varying experimental and optical flow settings. The measure of a good alpha was chosen to be that alpha does not vary excessively over a number of video frames. Best conditions of low coefficient of variation of alpha using the Lucas-Kanade optical flow algorithm were found to be when a larger aperture of 15x15 pixels was used, combined with a smaller threshold. Adequate results were found at cell size 40x40 pixels; the improvement in detecting details when smaller cells are used did not reduce the variability of alpha, and required much more computing power. Reduction in variability of alpha can be obtained by spreading the tracked location of a crowd member from a pixel into a rectangle. The Particle Image Velocimetry optical flow algorithm had better correspondence with the velocity vectors of manually tracked crowd members than results obtained using the Lukas-Kanade method. Here, also, it was found that 40x40 pixel cells were better than 15x15. A second attempt at quantifying the correlation between optical flow and actual crowd member velocities was studied using simulations. Two processes were researched, which utilized geometrical correction of the perspective distortion of the crowd videos. One process geometrically corrects the video, and then obtains optical flow data. The other obtains optical flow data from video, and then geometrically corrects the data. The results indicate that the first process worked better. Correlation was calculated between sets of data obtained from the average of twenty frames. This was found to be higher than calculating correlations between the velocities of cells in each pair of frames. An experiment was carried out to predict crowd tracks using optical flow and a calculated parameter, beta, seems to give promising results.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2011
- Identifier
- CFE0004024, ucf:49175
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004024
- Title
- CREATING SUSTAINABILITY THROUGH CORPORATE BRANDING.
- Creator
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Ritz, Hayley, Jones, Dan, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
This thesis provides a thorough definition of corporate branding, including its benefits when used as a strategic marketing tool. There are many who believe that the logo of a corporation is its brand. However, the logo is only one interpretation of the brand. The brand is the corporation's ethos. It is the fundamental character or spirit of the corporation. It is an expression of who the corporation is. It is the essence that links the corporation's product or service with its...
Show moreThis thesis provides a thorough definition of corporate branding, including its benefits when used as a strategic marketing tool. There are many who believe that the logo of a corporation is its brand. However, the logo is only one interpretation of the brand. The brand is the corporation's ethos. It is the fundamental character or spirit of the corporation. It is an expression of who the corporation is. It is the essence that links the corporation's product or service with its consumer through loyalty and emotional attachments. Corporations use various processes and methodologies when they begin to create and enhance their corporate brand. Corporations must define their corporate personality, build recognition, standardize, and fulfill brand promises. There are also obstacles and challenges that corporations face in their endeavor to implement a branding guideline, and the chance of overcoming them without defined leadership is unrealistic. This study focuses specifically on existing literature about corporate branding and cites case study examples to show what makes the best brands successful and where failing brands could have been more successful. The study concludes by providing insight into the future for corporate branding and offering suggestions for technical communication professionals who find themselves a part of the brand building and defining process. There are various rules to branding and traits that are common to every top brand in the world. By instilling its brand with such traits, and following certain processes with focus, passion, and persistence, and most of all a long-term commitment to the brand, a corporation will find its brand among the most recognized brands in the world.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2007
- Identifier
- CFE0001871, ucf:47413
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001871
