Logo design is an important part of any brand’s identity. It is essential for leaving a long lasting first impression on the audience. The key behind making a revolutionary logo design is by connecting it with the core values of the brand. In this article we will know about the effective use of negative space
A good logo has the potential to connect easily with the audience as it resonates with the core values of the brand in an effective way; via designing.
Hence, business owners invest a lot of time and resources in the quest to find the ideal logo design for their brand.
Designing the perfect logo requires a calculated mixture of elements in a strategic way so that nothing looks overwhelming or underwhelming.
And in some scenarios, even the slightest errors can cause an outstanding logo to look mediocre.
A design element as simple as “space”, can have a huge impact on how the final design turns out. It has the potential to alter the overall balance of the logo design making it look flawed.
Today we dig deep into one such error which can essentially make or break any logo design. i.e. Negative Space.
What Is Negative Space?
“A negative space is the space which surrounds an object in an image. OR. It is represented by spaces between the words , and space around symbols in a logo design.”
In simple words, negative space is the space without content in a logo design.
Proper utilization of this negative space can lead to better and more creative results in a logo design. A good example of proper negative space usage is portrayed in this image.
The logo designers here, have used negative space to their benefit by making illustrations out of it. This allows them to convey more information by using less design.
Which ultimately makes the logo design look simple yet unique.
Now, let us discuss how you can use negative space to your advantage.
5 STEPS ON HOW TO USE NEGATIVE SPACE IN YOUR LOGO
-MIND GAME
The basic idea behind using negative space strategically is to play mind games with the audience. Negative space is mostly used to send messages to the subconscious minds of the viewers.
This element of design can help in communicating another layer of meaning or fool the viewer about what they perceive in the initial impression.
In other words, visual illustrations of any sort have some psychological effects on the minds of onlookers.
In the case of negative space, this effect is used to gather that initial impression and make it a long lasting one so that people think about your logo design and brand subconsciously.
The perfect example of these mind games is portrayed by the logo of “The guild of food writers”. In this logo design, there is a nib of a fine ink pen.
And the negative space of that pen is used to portray a spoon, which gives a subconscious message related to food in our minds.
This is how you can use negative space strategically in order to play mind games with the audience.
-CREATE SYMBOLS BY COMBINING LETTERS
An effective method of using negative space is by combining letters together to form meaningful symbols.
Try pushing the letters in your logo design together and observe what happens. You can simply experiment with your logo design just by closing the gap between the letter and see if you can make something meaningful out of it.
The best example for this tip is in the Fed-Ex logo. The letters in the Fed-Ex logo are closed in together which makes the negative space between E and X look like an arrow.
This image gives a subconscious message of always moving forward.
-MAKE A CUT-OUT
A really innovative method of using negative space is by making cut-out’s from existing symbols in your logo design.
Try placing your symbol in a solid color on a white background and try to experiment on it by making cutouts. See, if anything makes sense out of those cut-outs.
Look for hidden messages and eye-catchy images.
A really good example of this cut-out trick is portrayed in the “girl scouts” logo design. Its logo features a symbol which has been carved to form a girl’s face. Talk about using negative space artistically.
-INCORPORATE WORDS INTO IMAGES
Just like using negative space to make designs out of symbols, one can also switch things up by using images instead of symbols for the job.
Try carving an image in a clever way so that the negative space takes the shape of a meaningful message. You could also try to form words inside the image by using negative space wisely.
Talk about making an iconic image an even bigger phenomenon.
Take the logo design of “Boom Burgers” for example; it sports the black shape of a cow which has the word “boom” carved on it using negative space.
Moreover, the tail of the cow is in the shape of an exclamation mark which adds on to the wow factor of the overall logo design.
-USE PRODUCT IMAGE
This method might be the ideal use of negative space in your logo design if your brand specializes in one product.
The idea is to incorporate that product wisely into the logo design so that it gives out the right subconscious message to the audience.
Take the logo of Alchimiste Microbrasserie in Joliette, Quebec for example. The brand uses “A” as a part of their logo design, but instead of using just the letter “A”, they use the negative space of the letter to form the shape of a beer bottle.
Hence, even you can try to incorporate your products into the logo design.
Making the perfect logo for your brand is not an easy task by any means. It requires a lot of time, resources and research.
Hopefully, this list made the brainstorming part of your logo design experience a bit easier.
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