What do the logos of Pepsi, Google Chrome, G&E, and Starbucks have in common? They all use a circle grid in their design.

Using this grid is a trend so popular with current designs because it evokes a mix of beauty and slickness. In fact, psychology is at play with shapes as much as color when used in logo designs.

The question is, should you use a circle guide for your logo design? Will it help you broaden your reach, connect with your audience, and gain newfound popularity?

To help you answer those questions, we have some details and discussions to help you decide and contemplate before applying it to your design.

What is a Logo Grid?

A logo grid is a tool that aids in creating shapes, adding geometrical harmony in the logo design. These grids are also called construction guides, due to how the grid lines work as guidelines for measurements and shapes.

With it, you can incorporate circular elements along with complex patterns. Combined with other design elements a circular grid can grant you unique patterns for your logo design.

Keep in mind that the circular grid is not the only tool that you can use in your design. It’s a supplement to help you come up with the most optimal logo that benefits your company’s goals.

You can also use the rule of thirds from photography as a design principle for the grid. The golden ratio is also another design element that you can use for the grid or you can simply use the column and gutter grid.

Advantages and Cautions in Using a Circle Grid

An advantage to note when using a circle grid, or any grid in general, is that it helps create focus and organization. A circular grid allows for clean and polished looking designs for the logo with its implementation of varying sizes and placements according to ratio and visual appeal.

Another advantage of using a grid is that it helps the designer plan better for the elements involved in the design. This allows them to create harmony in creating the logo. And despite the initial thought that they are constricting, there is room for flexibility as the lines will help you see when making adjustments.

On the other hand, the utilization of a grid may appear to be restricting and the effect that it leaves on logos may end up looking almost similar to every design made. Another thing to consider is that you might end up getting caught up in the mathematical nature of the grid that you forget that you are building a logo, not a graph of an equation.

Those who would argue about using freehand design in logos view the grid as constricted, subjecting them to be stuck in a box in creating their logos. Another argument is creating your own grid would be time-consuming and difficult.

Should You Use a Circle Grid?

The answer varies among different designers. Before using a circle guide, consider the following factors:

Are the Grid and Geometry Relevant to the Design?

Is the grid relevant to the logo’s design? If it is, make sure that it is part of logo’s identity. Use them at the very beginning of the design and be faithful to its application. When executed correctly, you’ll have a logo that is visually appealing.

However, some of these will still need some visual tweaking as certain grids may not work with the design in mind. You will also consider the typography and color if it appeals visually and jives with the logo design.

A good example for this is the logo design for the Jewish Museum by Sagmeister & Walsh. In it, the designers utilized the geometrical design of the Star of David and made it as a key element into making this logo. It draws from the past, and with this identity in play, the logo gives out a fresh, modern look on the museum’s brand.

Prior Experience and Ease in Using the Grid

Are you comfortable in using a grid in your design? Have you tried using a grid before? If you are at ease and comfortable in using the grid, go ahead and do so.

Though you may also consider the thought of breaking out of the grid for your design. Regardless of which, it may necessitate the need for you to create your own grid for your logo design

Polish and Symmetry to the Design

This is more of a design suggestion but also a consideration. If you plan to use a circle grid to your logo, you may also consider how it can add symmetry to the design. Perfect circles are useful in setting up curves and corners for the logo.

The “All Day Ruckoff” logo by designer Kaelgrafi presented a good example of symmetry in the design. The way the construction guide presents the symmetry in the logo showcases the polished and clean look in its make.

What to Not Do with a Grid

In using grids for your design, make sure it adds value to it. Otherwise, it will end up as a crutch that simply acts as an excuse to a weak design. A design grid must enhance the logo, not distract from it.

Another is to not over-rationalize your design with empty metrics and imaginary geometry. An example would be like the backlash for the Yahoo! logo, where the explanation on the design grid being lazy to almost non-existent.

Give Thought When Using Circle Grids

When planning to use a circle grid, look at your design again and ponder about it for a bit. Do you think it would add appeal and enhance the logo? If it’s a solid yes, use it and make sure it gives your logo a more polished life to it.

What you want is something that enhances your logo, not a distraction.

Feel free to visit us today and discover more guides and tricks. You can also use our free logo maker to get started with making visually-stunning and appealing logo designs.

Branding and color choices can make or break a business’s chance of success. This is especially true as it takes more and more to stand out from your competition.

Because of how important logos and overall branding are, it can be stressful working on an idea for a client.

Are you currently tasked to create a marketing logo for a client’s Facebook page? Read our top seven tips below to nail it on your first shot.

Logos with Clever Double Images

Do you know what visual double entendre is? If not, that okay. Basically, it means one image can be viewed as two ideas or concepts.

Make both ideas or images relevant to your brand.

This creates interest for the viewer but also stamps your logo with a true sense of flair and authenticity. Get creative with this!

Carefully Choose Colors for a Marketing Logo

Color will evoke feelings in consumers, so you must know your client and their market. Be mindful of how your logo colors will translate to grayscale.

One other thing to consider is how your logo works with other elements on your Facebook page. If using the logo as the profile picture be sure it is cohesive with your cover photo.

It can take time to design a Facebook cover photo, but it will be well worth your time.

Less Detail is Often Better

This is a mistake people often make. They try to cram too much information into one little logo. Simple logos tend to withstand the test of time and can become iconic.

Think along the lines of Apple or Nike.

Don’t Jump on a Fad Bandwagon

Every once in a while a new idea becomes insanely popular within the logo and branding industries. Fight the urge to join in on these.

The fads will likely pass and then you are left with a logo that is either similar to many others or just will look dated in a few years.

Custom Typeface

Creating a typeface or font just for your client is one of the best ways to create a totally unique logo that will stand apart from others.

If you will be using a lot of text in a logo, don’t just use a standard preset. Clients are expecting (and deserve) more.

Be sure whatever font you end up with works well with images or other elements in the logo.

Use Negative Space

Another visual trick is using negative space. This is a trick to keep logos simple and on brand for your client. A popular example is the FedEx logo. Think about that space between the E and X.

Do you see the arrow?

Make It Meaningful

One final tip when working on a logo for a client is to make it mean something. The logo should tell at least part of a story about the brand or business.

Try to work in the core values if possible to portray trust and reliability to consumers.

Time to Create the Perfect Logo

Even if you were feeling stuck with creating a marketing logo before, with these tips you should have plenty of new ideas.

If you are ready to test out some of these ideas, check out our amazing online logo maker.

CBD is taking the vaping market and natural healing industry to new heights. This powerful substance is changing the way people think about how they consume hemp products, and why it’s beneficial in the first place.

As a business owner operating in this realm, you definitely know a thing or two about CBD’s positive effects. But, have you done a good job of communicating this to your market?

The more of an effort you make to educate current consumers and reach out to potential CBD users, the more successful your business will be. This involves doing everything from blogging about CBD to answering user questions to even having a stronger logo than the one you do right now.

Every part of your business adds up if you want to offer the best CBD experience possible. Here are a few things a strong logo design has to do with company success.

1. Catch the Eye’s of New Users

Have you ever been driving on the highway and did a double-take of a billboard you pass by? Do you often pick up products in the grocery store or at the mall because of the interesting logo the packaging displays?

CBD consumers think in the same way. Like with any other kind of shopping, when a user sees something they like, they’re going to be intrigued by it. As such, your logo needs to be interesting enough to get their attention.

A unique, out-of-the-box design is much more likely to catch someone’s eye than a boring, typical logo will. Play with different ideas if you’re trying to reach new customers.

See what other CBD companies are doing for inspiration, like Wellspring CBD which you can click to learn more info about.

2. Increase Brand Recognition

It doesn’t matter how many new customers you get if you keep losing them. Your logo also has to help build brand recognition, which in turn supports your customer retention strategy. Good logos keep people coming back for more.

Think about the most timeless logos out there. From Nike sportswear to McDonald’s fries and Apple computers, people are sometimes drawn to certain products just because of the logo they have. Create repeat business like this and your company is practically guaranteed to do well.

3. Make People Feel Something

As much as a logo’s design keeps people coming back for a few more purchases, it’s what they feel that turns them into loyal, long-term customers. Your logo has to stand for something.

Try to incorporate brand values or some sort of personal touch in your new design. You may have to give this a few tries until you get it just right, but when you do, the results will speak for themselves.

4. Establish a Strong Connection

When you stir an emotion within someone, you open a door to create a strong connection. Over time, a stronger logo design starts to build trust with users. It’s something they can look at and know they are going to get the quality they’re looking for.

This comes in handy in case something does go wrong and you need customer service to step in. It’s also useful to have such a strong logo because all it takes is seeing the logo on social media or passing by someone else using one of your products to keep building the connection you’ve established.

5. Stand Out Against the Competition

The final way a strong logo design helps your business thrive is that it makes you stand out. Think about it: the CBD market is already growing and it’s only going to get more saturated.

You need a strong logo right now if you want to stand out and stay relevant in the future. Get this taken care of and you’ll be in good standing to keep the market share you already have and continue to grow.

Start Creating a Stronger Logo Right Now!

Although a logo design has a lot riding on it, it’s not hard to come up with something great. All you need is a little bit of time to clear your mind, some inspiration to get started, and a logo making software to get the job done.

If you want to build a stronger logo for your CBD business, click here to get started.

It only takes a customer ten seconds to form a first impression of your brand’s logo. In that ten seconds, they’re taking in everything. And while there are a number of different elements that go into creating a recognizable logo, like color, for example, all of those elements boil down to one simple rule.

That rule is simplicity.

Whether you’re working with a designer or attempting to create your own logo, you might be tempted to jazz it up with fancy designs or a lot of colors. But, in terms of creating a recognizable, trustworthy logo, that would be a mistake.

Read on to learn more about simple logo design and why it’s important for your business and your brand.

Symbolism and Recognition

Think about the Olympic Rings icon. It’s one of the oldest and best-known examples of a graphic logo. It is instantly recognizable and impossible to be mistaken for something else.

It was created in 1912 and hasn’t changed much in the 100+ years it has been around. But even though it’s simple, it’s incredibly effective. When you look at it, you know what it stands for.

There’s a use for every element in the picture, but you don’t need to know what those uses are in order to understand and relate the picture to the Olympics. It isn’t a sports-related graphic, it’s not trying to tell you what happens during the games, but you know exactly what it means when you look at it.

This is an example of how a simple logo design can take your brand from something your customers might recognize to something that they understand completely the second they look at it.

Logo Design Basics

There are a number of qualities that all good logos have. One of those qualities, and arguably the most effective, is the simplicity and clarity of a logo.

A logo is a brand’s face. As a company builds awareness of their brand, customers begin to make connections between the logo and the brand. If a logo is complicated, it makes it much harder for customers to make that association.

It’s very easy for uniqueness to get mistaken as complicated. In fact, it’s actually pretty hard to make a unique, simple logo. It’s for that reason that a lot of people opt to create complex ones instead because they’re actually much easier to design in a unique way.

But when you consider logo designs of popular companies, like McDonalds, Target, and Apple, you see how highly simplistic logos can be immensely helpful in creating brand recognition.

Make a Lasting Impression

A simple logo is much easier to absorb and understand. They’re easy to recall later on as well. They’re often easy to associate with a positive experience because it triggers memory centers in the brain and doesn’t bog the brain down with sending an unclear message, or too many messages all at once.

Sending a Clear Message

The design of a busy logo will send a convoluted message. Your customers might connect your brand and your logo, sure. But you could be seriously damaging your brand design efforts. You want to keep your logo targeted and simple.

If you do that, the message you’re sending with your logo will be clear, concise, and much more likely to be taken at face value.

Easy Recall

It’s much easier to remember one sentence than it is to remember one paragraph. The less information you’re being asked to memorize, the better your recall will be.

A complicated logo is a lot like that long paragraph. It’s filled with information and makes it harder for the average customer to remember it exactly the way you want them to.

Word of Mouth

If your logo is simple enough to commit to memory, your customer will also be able to describe it to someone else. So when they’re trying to remember the name of your company, or where you’re located, they’ll be able to tell them what the logo looks like instead.

Easily Recognizable

When your logo is simple, you can even recognize it from the corner of your eye. A much more complicated one will take a while and will require a precise line of sight in order to fully understand.

When you’re designing a logo, you know the purpose is to bring your brand to a customer’s mind right away. The quicker and easier this process is, the better it is for your brand.

Quick Emotional Reactions

Think about one of the major brands we mentioned earlier, like McDonald’s. When you imagine that logo, all of the emotions you feel should come up to the surface immediately. This is exactly the reaction you want from your customer as well.

If a logo design is complicated, your customer’s brain will spend more time trying to put together the picture of what they’re seeing rather than what they’re feeling when they see it.

Versatility

A good logo is one that can be used in all environments.

You’ll want to put your logo everywhere. You’ll want it in print, on a t-shirt, on business cards, on the web, on ink stamps, on signs, on promotional gifts, and more. You’ll want to make sure it looks good in color and black and white. It should translate well when it’s large and when it’s small.

Simple designs are best for this purpose as well. When there’s less to see, less gets lost in translation.

Harder to Counterfeit

When your logo is full of colors and complicated design, it’s much easier for other brands to copy it. A simple change is enough to consider it fair game for them to use and steal your status and followers.

If you stick to a few colors and a simple design with minimal details, it’s much harder to fool an unsuspecting customer with a counterfeit.

How to Design a Simple Logo

Trying to create a simple, effective logo can be a lot harder than you’d expect. But when you sit down and try to come up with a strategy, you can actually understand your business better.

Think about the elements that relate to your business and simplify them. Keep it fresh, modern, and unique. You’ll surely have your own process for creating your logo, but when you keep simplicity in mind, you’ll create something effective.

Your unique taste should leave a mark and no matter what it looks like in the end, your goal is to create something that’s focused on your brand.

Keep it Simple

A simple logo design doesn’t mean a simple business. It has no sway in what your business model or message is. In fact, it actually passes along a message of awareness and understanding to your customer. You want that first ten seconds that your logo is making an impression on your customer to deliver the message that you know what they want and how to deliver it to them.

For more information on logo development, visit us today.