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Logo Design

By Jacci Howard Bear, About.com

3 of 4

Use Shapes in Logo Design

Use Shapes in Logo Design

Use circles, squares, triangles to build logo designs.

Everything has a shape but the basic shapes of circles, squares, and triangles can be very effective in logo design, in part because of their simplicity. These shapes have certain sub-conscious meanings as well.

  • The circle is protective or infinite.
  • The square denotes stability, equality, and honesty.
  • The triangle suggests tension or conflict or action.

There are so many things you can "draw" using only circles, squares, or triangles. Group several together to form interesting patterns. You can make one shape from another -- such as the group of circles that form a triangle,in the illustration.

Alternating direction or color, disrupting a pattern with another shape or a shape out of alignment can add interest or suggest abstract ideas. A triangle alone or a series of overlapping ones can "point" in one or more directions.

Replace letters in a word or name with shapes that suggest those letters. A triangle for A or V is obvious. Less obvious is the E made of squares (in illustration) or perhaps two stacked circles for an S or a pair of triangles (one up, one down) for an N.

Logo designs don't need to be elaborate -- and usually work best when they are kept simple. So simple shapes work beautifully.

Jacci Howard Bear
Guide since 1997

Jacci Howard Bear
Desktop Publishing Guide

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