The Science of Logo Design: What Truly Makes It Great

Have you ever fallen in love with great design? I mean, design that makes you stop in your tracks. Maybe it’s a sports car, a designer dress, a piece of mid-century modern furniture, or a simple wallpaper pattern. (Ah, yes, wallpaper is back.)

Great design makes you pause for a longer look. Great design makes you step back in appreciation, awe, and amazement at the thought process – whether one brain or many – that it took to create such a work of art in any genre. Great design doesn’t happen by accident. It requires many iterations, with both yesses and no’s at every stage, and a dose of intentionality… sometimes even whimsy.

The beauty of design is that what speaks to one person doesn’t necessarily speak to another. However, when we design logos, fonts, and iconography for small businesses and corporate clients, that design must speak to everyone – or at least all of their client base. It must fully intend to represent the business to all potential customers, portraying both the culture and personality of the business as well as their customers, thus marrying the two.

For this foray into design, I’ll overlook the most subliminal, yet obvious – and still amazing – logo designs for Federal Express (FedEx), Wendy’s, Baskin Robbins, Le Tour de France, and many others.

Design Mirrors Nature

There are times when I see amazing design out in the world… design that makes me step back and stare in awe and amazement at the pure genius behind a logo or lettering. One such logo is the NBC Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics logo. Here’s it is in all of its glory…

During the entire span of the 2022 winter Olympics games, I nearly drooled every time the logo popped on screen. This design embodies complete harmony between soft and strong

The mountain peaks and geometric patterns within the mountains themselves aren’t new. Neither, of course, is the peacock or conjoined Olympic circles. No, the subtle beauty is found in the angles atop the I-J-I that mirror the mountain peaks above as well as the N that continues the downward slope.

Simply put, design doesn’t have to be complicated, though it may take complicated thought to create simple design.

Design Imitates Life

Now, a golfer, I am not. But, like a Rorschach test, it’s hard to take your eyes off this engrossing logo, that combines the form of a golfer mid swing along with the profiled face and headgear of a Spartan warrior. The Spartan Golf Club logo makes amazing use of both positive and negative space, rendering the two nearly inseparable. Like an optical illusion, once you see it, you can’t look away.

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Designed by Richard Fontaneau, this logo design utilizes Gestalt principles, which are perceptual principles that can cause people to interpret ambiguous images in certain ways. In this case, most people only see the golfer and not the Spartan head; thus, giving the logo an intentional double meaning.

Design Matches Meaning

I discovered this last design while on a day trip trekking through Wake County, NC, as part of my side passion – a North Carolina travel blog about the cool finds and hidden gems throughout the state. (You can subscribe to our blog here: https://portablenc.com/ [Scroll to the bottom.] and/or follow us on Instagram at @portablenc.)

The town of Fuquay-Varina, NC, underwent a concerted rebranding effort in 2015. With an homage to the past and a nod to the future, the two bypassing, acute triangles represent the two towns that once merged to form the city as it is today. Additionally, the two triangles deliver a visual of forward movement.

The city’s new tag line ‘a dash more’ signifies that the town offers just a little bit more than one might expect – and leans into a future focus as well. This plays out well in the custom lettering of the city’s name made up of – you guessed it… dashes. What else?

The city of Fuquay-Varina, NC, did an amazing job of combining messaging with a visual to personally connect people with their city of residence – even suggesting to passers through, like myself, that the area offers just a little bit more. So, the next time you are in the Raleigh area of North Carolina, swing into nearby Fuquay-Varina for a peek. You might find, dare I say, just a dash more!

What designs, logo or otherwise, have you fallen in love with? Dash into the conversation!