Transformation of Animalistic Visual Trademark in the Evolution of Graphic Design

The purpose of the article is to identify the features of technical and stylistic changes in the animalistic visual trademark in the process of graphic design development of the 20th – early 21st centuries. Research methodology. The author of the article applies axiological method (to determine the significance of the research object for the carriers of culture); methods of semantic and structural-semantic analysis (to identify cultural meanings of the animalistic images of the trademarks); structural and functional method, method of modern hermeneutics (to interpret meanings); evolutionary method (to identify technical and stylistic changes of the animalistic visual trademark in historical terms), etc. Scientific novelty. The features of technical and stylistic changes of the animalistic visual trademarks in the development of the graphic design of the 20th – early 21st centuries have been studied on the example of the world’s leading automobile companies; the concept of “trademark” has been clarified; the cultural meanings of the animalistic images of the trademarks “Ferrari”, “Peugeot”, “Jaguar” and “Lamborghini” have been analysed. Conclusions. The article reveals that the transformation of the animalistic visual trademarks of the leading automobile companies primarily depends on changes in corporate style, market conditions, and marketing purposes. The search vector for innovative forms of visual expressiveness of a trademark corresponds to the current state of graphic design – its active development affects the visual qualities of trademarks, the complexity of information content. The peculiarities of the sign information presentation, which are characteristic of certain historical and cultural periods, were manifested in changes of their stylistic content, practically without affecting the symbolic load in the context of the evolution of animalistic trademarks. Today, visual representations of animals are actively used in the graphic design of trademarks, but animalistic images are mostly devoid of semantic depth – they are usually interpreted as something trivial that can attract the consumer’s attention, and due to the loss of hidden meaning, the image of an animal turns into a simulacrum, which is transformed by means of graphic design in accordance with the preferences of the mass consumer market