Say hello to our flower bonanza!
It is finally summer, and what could possibly be more summery than flowers? So lovely when they bloom in the spring and fill the air with their sweet fragrance. Not to mention being a delightful sight and how they put us in a good mood. Flowers are not to be underestimated, which is why we have chosen to dedicate this article to nature's eye candy: the flower.

As usual, we have investigated how to become a better image communicator with our eminent semiotician Karin Sandelin at Kantar Sifo. We help understand the signals that these lovely flowers give off. Enjoy our colorful article!

ima104493 A still life with different kinds of flowers
What many people perhaps do not think about is that flowers are the bearers of strong symbolic cultural values. As such, they can signal many different things. People often talk of the "language of flowers" or florioligy – how the number, types and colors in a bouquet communicate a message. Semiology on the other hand, is the study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation. Here are two examples.
culis09b5v7o A person holding a red rose
Red roses
Red roses are often associated with politics, but their appearance and how we use them can also provide them new symbolism. For example, red roses are strongly associated with romantic staging, courtship and posh interior design. But the rose’s woody stalk, sharp thorns, heady fragrance and packed petals also symbolize seriousness, heaviness, solemnity, self-confidence and tenacity.
scandinav_wfpf A flower bouquet with summer flowers
Delicate summer flowers
Flowers such as daisies and campanula symbolize different things entirely. They are more fleeting, delicate and fragile. Their fragrances bring to mind school graduations and vacations, how you padded around barefoot and picked them, gathered them up and made wild wreaths of them. You find them on the sides of roads, in summer meadows and just around the corner as part of your daily life, and yet, only during summer, a time of year associated with optimism and gaiety.
The way flowers are arranged also has an impact on their expression. For example, finding the beauty in perfect imperfection symbolizing minimalism and precision as in Japanese "ikebana" arrangements. Wild heaps of flowers in full bloom, unruly and sprawling, bring about feelings of authenticity and naturalness in arrangements.

Historically, strongly metaphorical flowers have been symbols of political parties, but recently, the trend has been to exchange timid, earthy flowers with stricter, stylized graphic elements. This trend of fastidious and "tidy" minimalism and stylizing of logotypes in general is a sign that indicates the brand's obvious existence in our lives. At the same time, it results in an absence of strong metaphors such as the flowers, which carry with them a richness of cultural meanings and values. When used well, they enhance your communications and your brand identity with emotional values such as "traditional", "modern", "strong", "friendly", "open" and "prim".

Depending on what you want to say, you can utilize flowers and their shape to enhance your message. Click through our website to find just the right flower image to relay your message!

Our thanks to Karin Sandelin at Kantar Sifo for their cooperation on this article.