Upward-tilted logos cue perceptions of unhealthiness

18/07/2025

Upward-tilted logos cue perceptions of unhealthiness

"Tanvi Gupta, Henrik Hagtvedt"

Journal Articles

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Logos are central to brand identity and image, and logo features such as spatial orientation can encourage desirable or undesirable perceptions of a company’s products. This research demonstrates that upward-tilted logos give rise to perceptions of unhealthiness—in food and other products—because of consumers’ learned associations between such logos and unhealthy products and brands, although the effect is eliminated for products taxonomically categorized as healthy. The investigation additionally rules out alternative mechanisms of safety and hedonic appeal. Two implicit association tests, a brand imagery dataset, and three experiments (as well as four studies in Supplemental Materials) provide supportive evidence. While contributing to literature on visual design, this research also provides practical insights for marketers seeking to incorporate health cues in their logos.

IIMA