A curious eye cannot help but note the disparate presentation of the two bank names. That of Lloyds bank is in capital letters while that of Northern Rock is in small letters. Apparently, this is a representation of their respective trademark names used for distinction and identity purposes. On the other hand, we have the bank images depicting two types of architectural classicisms. These include figurative classicism for Lloyd bank and post-modern classicism for Northern Rock (Alessandrini 2001). Semiotic analysis of the architectural aspects of these banks can help make clear how socio- economic relations and nature of banking is reflected in terms of the appearance of the buildings. In a nut shell, post modern classicism is consumer oriented in that image is used as a symbol of status and as a sales driver.
Canonical or figurative classicism acts as a preserver of history. This classicism does carry single theme or code in that it focuses on the old only (Mollerup 1997). Besides being canonical in nature, it also tends to revive history. This architecture bears no ambiguous messages with it as its message is succinct.
The appearance of Lloyds bank is severe in manner. The entrance door resembles that of a temple indicating that there must have been some religious influence on its design at the time when it was being constructed. The design of this building is reminiscent of the renaissance period. Its appearance is also formal in manner indicating the kind of clientele it intends to attract, probably those in their late fifties and onwards.
A curious on looker can easily arrive at the opinion that the bank is run by government due to its somber appearance. The windows are huge but elevated in a manner that makes passersby hardly see what is going on inside. The high rise building is designed in a base, body and head style with white walls made up of huge bricks. Its apparent Palladian disposition makes it less ambiguous (Stuart & Muzzelec 2004, p. 473). Public entities are known to be less particular when it comes to looks. Private enterprises on the other hand which due to the value that they place on competition tend to enhance looks through fancy architectural designs. With this assumption, a nonchalant onlooker will quickly decide that Lloyd bank is a public entity while northern rock is a private enterprise.
Figurative look is less likely to attract new customers especially of younger age since most of these banks are associated with huge business deals that are out of reach for ordinary young people. Lloyd bank is somehow symmetrical in design, a characteristic that is typical of renaissance. Another message that such a structure is likely to send across is that of market dominance for long periods of time. The building is likely to be a parent to many other branches.
Postmodern classicism is synonymous to free style type of designs as is the case with Northern Rock. The name of the bank written on the entrance does not even follow the convention of writing as all letters are in small letters. Thus one can safely conclude that its character is diverse in nature. Its design can encompass both modern and traditional aesthetics to create more appeal to prospective customers. Postmodern classicism has with it ambiguous or contradicting themes. There is no adherence to any specific code and it is therefore also called freestyle classicism. It can put together both new and old to come up with the desired consumer model i.e. a design that readily appeals to the eyes of prospective customers (Dacin & Brown 2002, p.259).
The word northern rock, white in color, is embellished against a dark background to make it more conspicuous. The entire front is made of glass giving it a look of a common window display that allows for outsiders to have a glimpse of what is happening inside. Numerous fluorescent lights illuminate the inside, thereby enhancing the looks of the attractive interior. This certainly appeals to visual sense of prospective customers thereby probably enticing them to defect from mundane banks if looks are anything to go by. Looks inspire confidence and in this case, the customer is made to believe that the bank is keeping abreast with current changes in the financial sector and is therefore more likely to be operating a stable balance sheet (Van Riel & Balmer 1997, p.350).
The back ground settings for Northern Rock bank play around with color to allow passersby to get a clear view of the interior. The black outer appearance is somehow dull but a closer effortless look reveals the inner luster enhanced by white painting and lights making the inside to be all the more alluring. On the other hand, the words northern rock bears some metaphorical significance. This is perhaps intended to appeal to a customer’s subconscious by showing him or her how stable the bank is (Kapferer 1997). Lloyd bank on the other hand chooses to pass on similar message to a customer’s subconscious by retaining an archaic look to show how much experience the bank has acquired over the years.
References
Alessandrini, S 2001, ‘modelling corporate identity: A concept explication and theoretical explanation,’ Corporate Communications, vol. 64, no.5, pp. 173-183.
Dacin, P & Brown, T 2002, ‘Corporate identity and corporate associations: A framework for future research,’ Corporate Reputation Review, vol. 5, no. 3, pp. 254-266.
Kapferer, J 1997, Strategic Brand Management – Creating and Sustaining Brand Equity Long Term. London, Kogan Page.
Mollerup, P 1997, Marks of Excellence – The function and variety of trademarks, London, Phaidon Press Ltd.
Stuart, H & Muzzelec, L 2004, ‘Corporate makeovers: can hyena be rebranded?’ Journal of Brand Management, vol. 11, no.6, pp. 472-483.
Van Riel, CBM & Balmer, JMT, 1997, ‘Corporate identity: the concept, its measurement and management’, European Journal of Marketing, vol. 31 no.5, pp. 340-355.