A large amount of designers begin the logo design process by drawing up a grid or guide system to help maintain symmetry, to create visual harmony between elements and to ultimately achieve purposeful design.
What is a Logo Grid?
A logo grid is essentially a tool to help designers create shapes with geometric harmony when designing logos. Popular styles of grids are often created from an actual square grid, although depending on the logo style, designers may use circular grids or other custom and unique systems. Despite the difference between square or circular logo grids, the concept is still the same and adopts a mathematical approach to ensure accuracy and consistency between elements.
Benefits of Using a Grid
While the thought of establishing a grid system may come across as complex or technical, there are actually several benefits that will help to enhance your logo design and ease your creative process. Below are some of the benefits of using a logo grid:
– Grids can help you keep focussed and organized.
– The different lines and segments may aid your creativity to create shapes you that you hadn’t yet considered.
– A grid can help you to perfect and polish your design by tidying up the more detailed areas.
– Logo grids can help you to balance elements within a logo including filled and negative space.
Although grid systems can be beneficial, there are also some disadvantages to using them when creating logos. Some designers may feel restricted or limited in terms of creative ability when using a grid or perhaps spend too long trying to calculate the right angle of a line. Trying to follow all the rules all the time may limit your design process so ensure you know when to break away and trust your gut instinct.
Not all designers adopt the same methods of working, some may prefer to use a grid or guide system whilst others may utilise alternative techniques. A grid system can be helpful when starting from scratch and can help designers visualise progress and development, although becoming too attached and restricted may limit creative flair and flexibility.
By Dawood Pathan
For advice on your branding and logo design, contact Offbeat Creative at hello@offbeatcreative.co.uk or call 020 7060 3121