What makes a great and appealing logo is the harmony between the color and the shapes that creates it. The logo shapes used by big brands aren't chosen by chance, it involves the psychology of the human brain.
Do you know what shape is best for your logo? Do you know how it can make many differences? Shaping is an essential consideration for the design of a winning logo. Do you know why a logo is shaped that way? Are you sure that's the best shape to communicate its message?
From a psychological perspective, there's nothing more relevant than shape. The human brain is made to understand and memorize shapes. A distinctive shape is remembered long after it is seen.
This is why when it comes to developing a brand, a logo design comes first.
What professional designers want is to made a logo as an attribute, and reflect on what each attribute might mean and how people will interpret it.
The more time a designer spend working on the meaning of these attributes, the more control the designer can have on what people will see in a great logo.
Traditional geometric shapes can be favored in some circumstances. They create an appearance of balance that seems to find naturally effective.
Although many people want a unique design that grabs attention, they shouldn't stray into uncomfortable territory that completely defies a viewer's expectations. Basic geometric forms can be a great canvas from which to work.
Choosing the right shape and understanding the subconscious messages it conveys is an art. Strong core shapes can create a sense of strength, stability and credibility that works for many businesses. If not done correctly, however, there is a risk of producing a completely useless and forgettable logo design.
Since every potential attribute and the total combination of logo elements are virtually infinite, below is a list that focuses on the most common shapes implemented in a logo design.
- Circles, ovals and ellipses are usually made to project a positive emotional message. Using a circle in a logo can suggest community, friendship, love, relationships and unity. Rings have an implication of marriage and partnership, suggesting stability and endurance. Curves tend to be viewed as feminine in nature.
- Square and triangles are straight edged shapes that suggest stability that can also be used to imply balance. Straight lines and precise logo shapes also impart strength, professionalism and efficiency. However, and particularly if they are combined with colors like blue and grey, they may also appear cold and uninviting. Changing the color to a more dynamic ones can solve this problem and create something interesting. Triangles also have a good association with power, science, religion and law. These tend to be viewed as masculine attributes.
- Vertical lines and horizontal lines play well in our minds creating a more gender differences. Vertical lines provide more emotion toward masculinity, strength and aggression, while horizontal lines suggest its counterpart: community, tranquillity and calm.
- Angular, soft rounded, curved and bold typefaces can change the whole appearance of a design. Angular appears as aggressive or dynamic while soft rounded gives a youthful presentation. Curved typefaces and cursive scripts tend to appeal more to women, while strong, bold lettering has a more masculine edge.
Before designing a logo, professional graphic designers will create a list of values and attributes that the logo should convey. This is the reason why designers need to know about their clients and their business as good as they possibly can.
After all the necessary information is written down, designers will able to look forward to match all of the aspects into a combination shapes, colors schemes and meaningful typefaces.
These three elements will give a logo its own attractiveness within its targeted market.
Logo design by using shapes gives an emotional response that can have a resounding effect on the way customers and potential customers view a particular product, service or company. A powerful logo may look simple, but the truth, there's nothing simple about creating an effective shape for a logo.
People will understand and interact with a logo, the same way they do with words: from their own personal perspective. Which is ultimately led by their own cultural views and personal experiences. If people with distinct levels of education see different meanings for the same word, the chances are they will do the same with a specific logo.
The logo shapes incorporated into a design are meant to become an intrinsic element in the message they will convey to the public. A logo is the symbol of a business. It sends a strong message to prospective customers.