This is a semiotic analysis of the Royal Dutch Shell logo (the Pecten—scallop shell). More specifically, we looked at the evolutionary examination of the corporation’s logo from its inception in 1904 until the newest version of the graphic emblem today. This semiotic analysis has two chief purposes. First, the internal meaning of the logo as a sign is analyzed, using Peirce’s three-part model of signification (that is, representamen–object–interpretant) which justifies the relationships existing between the sign and its object. Second, an examination of the relationships between the sign and its external referents is presented. An important conclusion is that, to be effective, the Shell logo has to be recognizable, easy to perceive and understandable. It has also been streamlined over the years to portray the true values of the company. For this reason, corporate identity tends to be evolutionary in nature.
AbrattR. (1989). A new approach to the corporate image management process. Journal of Marketing Management, 5(1), 63–76.
2.
AlbertoP. A.FredrickL.HughesM.McIntoshL.CihakD. (2007). Components of visual literacy: Teaching logos. Focus on Autism and other Developmental Disabilities, 22(4), 234–243.
3.
AllanK. (2001). Natural language semantics. New York: Wiley-Blackwell.
4.
BarrettT. J. (1985). Interactive imagery and recall of advertisements: Interactive imagery, non-interactive imagery, and printed text. Psychological Reports, 56(3), 922–923.
5.
BaudrillardJ. (1983). Simulations. New York: Semiotext.
6.
BennettP. D. (1995). Dictionary of marketing terms. Lincolnwood, IL: NTC Business Books.
7.
BickG.JacobsonM. C.AbrattR. (2003). The corporate identity management process revisited. Journal of Marketing Management, 19(7), 835–855.
8.
BishopR. (2001). Stealing the signs: A semiotic analysis of the changing nature of professional sports logos. Social Semiotics, 11(1), 23–41.
9.
CohenD. (1986). Trademark strategy. Journal of Marketing, 50(1), 61–74.
GregoryJ. R. (2002). Branding across borders. Chicago: McGraw-Hill.
20.
HeilbrunnB. (1997). Representation and legitimacy: A semiotic approach to the logo. (1997). In NöthW. (Ed.), Semiotics of the media: State of the art, projects, and perspectives (pp. 175–189). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
21.
HeilbrunnB. (1998a). My brand the hero? A semiotic analysis of the consumer-brand relationship. In LambkinM. (Ed.), European perspectives on consumer behaviour (pp. 1–43). Hemel Hampstead: Prentice-Hall.
22.
HeilbrunnB. (1998b). Logo. In BouissacP. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of semiotics (pp. 373–375). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
23.
HellerS.PettitE. (2000). Graphic design time line: A century of design milestones. New York: Allworth Press.
24.
HenriquesR. (1969). Biography of Marcus Samuel, first viscount bearsted and founder of ‘Shell’Transport and Trading Company. Clifton, NJ: Augustus M Kelley.
25.
HoopesJ. (1991). Peirce on signs. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press.
26.
HowarthS.JonkerJ.SluytermanK.van ZandenJ. L. (2007). The history of Royal Dutch Shell: Four-volume set. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
27.
JacksonR. H.CastilloE. (1996). Indians, Franciscans, and Spanish colonization: The impact of the mission system on California Indians. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.
28.
JakobsonR. (1960). Linguistics and poetics. In SebeokT. A. (Ed.), Style in language (pp. 350–377). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
29.
KellerK. L. (1993). Conceptualizing measuring and managing customer-based brand equity. Journal of Marketing, 57(1), 1–22.
30.
KinniT. B.RiesA. (2001). Future focus: How 21 companies are capturing 21st century success. Mankato, MN: Capstone.
31.
KnobilM. (2001). Business superbrands. London: Superbrands Ltd.
32.
LipovetskyG.ElyetteR. (2003). Le luxe eternel: De l’âge du sacré au temps des marques. Paris: Gallimard.
33.
LiuY.O’HalloranK. L. (2009). Intersemiotic texture: Analyzing cohesive devices between language and images. Social Semiotics, 19(4), 367–388.
34.
McGeeL.LomaxR.HeadM. (1988). Young children’s written language knowledge: What environmental and functional print reading reveals. Journal of Reading Behavior, 20(2), 99–118.
35.
MickD. G.BurroughsJ. E.HetzelP.BrannenM. Y. (2004). Pursuing the meaning of meaning in the commercial world: An international review of marketing and consumer research founded on semiotics. Semiotica, 152(1), 1–74.
MoriartyS. E. (2002). The symbiotics of semiotics and visual communication. Journal of Visual Literacy, 22(1), 19–28.
38.
NöthW. (1990). Handbook of semiotics. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
39.
OgdenC. K.RichardsI. A. (1923). The meaning of meaning. New York: Harcourt Brace.
40.
O’HalloranK. L. (2005) Mathematical discourse: Language, symbolism and visual images. London: Continuum.
41.
PattonP. (2003, July10). Corporate logo, or smoke screen?The New York Times, p. 4.
42.
PeirceC. S. (1958 [1931]). The collected papers of Charles Sanders Peirce. In HartshorneC.WeissP. (Eds), Peirce: Volumes (pp. 1–6). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
PopperK.ShearmurJ.TurnerP. N. (2008). After the open society: Selected social and political writings. New York: Routledge.
45.
PriestT. (2007). The offshore imperative: Shell Oil’s search for petroleum in postwar America. College Station, Texas, TX: A&M University Press.
46.
RobertsonK. R. (1989). Strategically desirable brand name characteristics. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 6(4), 61–71.
47.
SaussureF. de (1986 [1916]). Course de linguistique générale. Paris: Payot.
48.
SchechterA. H. (1993). Measuring the value of corporate and brand logos. Design Management Journal, 4(1), 33–39.
49.
SchiratoT. (1998). Meaning. In BouissacP. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of semiotics (pp. 396–399). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
50.
ScottD. (1993). Air France’s Hippocampe and BOAC’s Speedbird: The semiotic status of the logos. French Cultural Studies, 4, 107–127.
51.
SebeokT. A. (1976). Contributions to the doctrine of signs. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
52.
SebeokT. A. (1991). A sign is just a sign. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
53.
ShortT. L. (2009). Peirce’s theory of signs. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
54.
SiegelL. B. (1989). Planning for a long-life logo. Marketing Communications, 14, 44–49.
55.
Silva-RojasN.RoastS. (2006). Corporate visual identity. Lulea, Sweden: Lulea University of Technology.
56.
SilverL. (2001). Logo design that works: Secrets for successful logo design. Beverly, MA: Rockport Publishers.
57.
SilvermanK. (1983). The subject of semiotics. New York: Oxford University Press.
58.
SimanzhenkovV.IdemR. (2003). Crude oil chemistry. New York: Marcel Dekker.
59.
Van RekomJ. (1997). Deriving an operational measure of corporate identity. European Journal of Marketing, 31(5), 410–422.
60.
VartorellaW. (1990). Doing the bright thing with your company logo. Advertising Age, 61(2), 31.
61.
WrightA. J. (2006). Demons in the financial world and how to spot them. Bloomington, IN: Trafford Publishing.
62.
ZajoncR. B. (1968). Attitudinal effects of mere exposure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 9(2), 1–27.
63.
ZakiaR. D.NadinM. (1987). Semiotics, advertising, and marketing. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 4(2), 5–12.
64.
ZhangL. (1997). The charm and seduction of brand names. In RauchI.CarrG. F. (Eds), Semiotics around the world: Synthesis in diversity, Volume 2 (pp. 1263–1268). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
65.
ZmudaN. (2008). What went into the updated Pepsi logo. Advertising Age, 79(40), 6.
