What makes a good logo?

What makes a good logo?

From Nudge by Phill Agnew

May 25, 2026 · 24 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the elements that make a logo effective, featuring insights from Pete Miller of Octopus Energy.

In this episode, I chat to Pete Miller, part of the co-founding team at Octopus Energy, who helped design one of the most recognisable new logos in Britain. Hear how Octopus used two proven psychological principles to build a logo people remember (and why those same principles are being ignored by most of the industry). You'll learn: - Why a distinct logo made one beer taste 5% better - How a 1933 German study explains why Octopus stands out - Why brands from McDonald's to KFC give their logos human faces - And what happened when researchers asked people to turn off a robot --- Subscribe to my newsletter: https://www.nudgepodcast.com/mailing-list Unlock the Nudge Vaults: https://www.nudgepodcast.com/vaults Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phill-agnew/ Read Aaron’s book: ⁠https://thethingswelove.com/⁠ --- Today’s sources: Bartneck, C., Van Der Hoek, M., Mubin, O., & Al Mahmud, A. (2007). "Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do!": Switching off a robot. Proceedings of the 2nd ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction, 217–222. Shotton, R. (2017). The choice factory: 25 behavioural biases that influence what we buy. Harriman House. Shotton, R…

People in this episode

Host: Phill Agnew

Guest: Pete Miller

Topics covered

  • logo design
  • psychological principles
  • branding
  • consumer behavior
  • marketing strategies

Keywords

  • logo
  • branding
  • psychology
  • consumer behavior
  • Octopus Energy
  • marketing

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Octopus Energy

Books & works: The choice factory: 25 behavioural biases that influence what we buy, The illusion of choice: 16½ psychological biases that influence what we buy, Über die Wirkung von Bereichsbildung im Spurenfeld

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