Thesis on effective logo design garners
kudos for environmental design scholar

Now that her senior thesis examining why great logos are memorable was named one of the year’s best undergraduate scholarly works at Texas A&M University, senior environmental design major Lori Lampe of Sherman, Texas said her next major undertaking — the true culmination of her academic endeavors — will be landing a job as a graphic designer or working for an architecture firm.

But before graduating, Lampe, an undergraduate research scholar, will be honored for her academic prowess by the Office of Honors & Undergraduate Research in a special Scholars Reception slated for 4 p.m. Thursday, May 12 in the Interdisciplinary Life Sciences Auditorium.

Lampe’s paper, “Memorable Logo Design,” and a paper penned by Alyssa Politte, a civil engineering major, were selected as the two best theses from more than 100 scholarly works submitted this year by students in Texas A&M’s Undergraduate Research Scholars program.

Politte, who will be honored with Lampe at the May 12 reception, wrote a thesis evaluating the effects of paver systems on urban development.

According to Dr. Suma Datta, executive director of the Office for Honors & Undergraduate Research, sponsors of the annual juried competition, the winning theses must be well written, clear and concise and must thoroughly address their topic. Jurors, she said, consider whether the submitted research has garnered scholarly acclaim in other competitions and whether the author has been an active, responsible participant in the research honors program.

Lampe’s research examined the design of successful logos and determined what design characteristics make them easily recognizable and memorable. She developed a procedure for testing survey participants’ memory of logos and the specific design characteristics that left a lasting impression in them. The survey yielded a general list of logo design principles that can be used, she said, to help any business or organization develop an effective brand identity.

“My hope,” Lampe wrote, “is that this information will help every kind of nonprofit organization create an impactful identity that improves the communication of their cause to the public.”

- Posted: April 21, 2011 -

Contact:   Phillip Rollfing, prollfing@archone.tamu.edu or 979.458.0442.