Why Google’s Logo isn’t a Perfect Circle & Why Don’t the Colors Line Up?

Have you ever taken a moment to ponder the peculiarities of the Google Logo? Or perhaps, is it all just a matter of perception? Many creative minds in the design community have been expressing their thoughts, suggesting that there might be something amiss with the new Google logo.

Check out Figure 1.1 with us and let's see if there's any truth to the buzz!

Here's the laid-out version of the Google logo, and, well, it's not exactly playing connect the dots.

• The outer and inner circles aren't cozying up to the edges like they should.
• Look at the right side – there's a gap between the outer edge of the logo and the circle hanging out over it.
• Math-wise, the intersecting lines are breaking the rules – they're not meeting at the midpoint.
• Even the red and yellow parts are partying in a zigzag instead of a straight line.
• And the colors? They're playing favorites, not spreading out evenly.

If you're scratching your head about all this, don't worry – it's not a design oopsie. Some clever minds did this on purpose.

So, why isn't the "G" in Google all picture-perfect? It's a typographic move called "Overshooting." Basically, it's when the curves of the letters go a bit wild, overshooting the guidelines that keep things neat. Mathematically, that’s wrong, but to our eyes, it looks just right.

Let’s understand it with the help of a typeface — Futura. Check out Figure 1.2 and Figure 1.3 for the scoop!

See the upper part of Figure 1.2? The "L" and "E" are right on target with the guidelines, all centered and neat. But peek at the "G" and "O" – they're rebels, slightly straying beyond the lines. Why? Well, that's the magic of overshooting. It's like giving the letters room to breathe, making everything look consistently sized in a word.

Now, drop your gaze to the lower half of Figure 1.2. See what happens when we corral those wandering "G"s and "O"s to the guidelines? It's a bit wonky – the "L" and "E" suddenly feel like giants next to the other letters.

In Figure 1.3, let's focus on the vertical line throwing some attitude with the letter "E". The weight of the font is wider in the up-down part than the side-to-side. Why the imbalance? It's all about the optical game. Typography's like a magic trick – it's not just about crunching numbers; you've got to make it look good. It's a visual illusion, and that's the real skill – making it nice to the eyes.

Now, about the "G" in the Google logo – why's it hugging the left with a circular vibe, not so much on the right (Figure 1.1)? It's the art of optical stabilization or balancing act.

Gestalt Theory

Our brains are like superheroes in the visual department. In this crazy, complex world, they try to make sense of things by grouping visual elements into neat "unified wholes." There's a cool term for this brainpower, and it's called Gestalt.

Now, when it comes to your logo game, you can tap into several Gestalt principles, like similarity, continuation, closure, proximity, figure, and ground. Picture this: the WWF logo with its panda icon (Check out Figure 1.4). It's a Gestalt masterclass, using the 'closure' principle to morph separate objects into a cuddly panda bear.

Gestalt theory is a nudge to remember that in design, it's not just about what's there – it's also about what's not there. It's the secret sauce to making your visuals pop!

Irradiation Phenomenon

Imagine you craft a sleek dark logo on a white background – looks sharp, right? Well, here's the twist: for versatility, you'll probably need a white version too.

Now, the common belief is, switch the color to white, and you're good to go. But hold up – something funky occurs. The logo seems to bulk up, gaining some visual weight! Odd, huh? It's like logo magic, and it's called the Irradiation Phenomenon. (Check out Figure 1.5)

Thankfully there is a simple solution! When crafting a white version of your logo, just add a slim outline, expand the shape, and use Illustrator's pathfinder tool to zap it away. The trick? Adjust the 'weight' visually until your design looks as slick in white on black as it does in black on white.

Now, let's craft that flawless 'G' with a touch of mathematical finesse!

Let’s have a look at the side by side comparison (Figure1.6) of this logo and the first thing I notice that the left blue part in the optimised logo sticks out way too much to the left and in the original one, it doesn’t stick out too much and is more optically balanced.

Now let’s look at the reason for the disproportionate colour areas in the "G". Yellow being a warm and bright colour tends to overpower the adjacent orange, green and blue. One of the solutions to bring down that energy level and make it even and balanced with the other colours, is to reduce the area covered by it. Without this, a certain arc inside the letter "G" would stand out as if floating on a different plain, where as rest of the letter form would get overshadowed by that yellow arc. The decision is of course well thought out and it makes the logo soothing to look at without compromising on the brand colours.

Bottomline

So, wrapping up this puzzle — it's not that mathematical precision doesn't matter in crafting any branding piece; it's just not the sole player. The human brain is a quirky maestro; it doesn't see visuals as separate objects but as one complete composition. Sometimes, we need to step beyond the mathematical boundaries and ensure optical balance so that the whole composition comes together seamlessly as a single entity.

Again, this is nothing that graphic designers don’t already know. But for the rest of us, it’s a cool little lesson on how imperfections in logos are sometimes what make them perfect.