As long as humans have made art, as long as we’ve sought a way to express ourselves beyond just words, people from all around the world have used shape. Throughout her article “How Geometry Influences Logo Design”, designer Maggie Macnab outlines how form and function intersect through the use of geometry, and how we can use one of the most fundamental aspects of our reality and our art, shape, to either strengthen or weaken our designs, particularly logos.
Shapes are simple. A triangle nothing more than three lines, and you would be very hard pressed to find anyone above a few years old that couldn’t identify a triangle when we see one. We also have an intuitive understanding of how shapes interact in and with our world, our lived experience. Reading the article reminded me pareidolia. It goes further than just this example, but when you see a face in a completely inanimate object, maybe a few scratches in some rock, that’s pareidolia. Understanding geometry is hard-coded into our biology, so it shouldn’t be that much of a surprise that shape is one of the most important and effective tools when it comes to making a cohesive, readable design.
Logos are no different. I think the logo progression of The Animal Planet TV channel exemplifies this perfectly.
The logos from 1996-2008 use a combination of different shapes to make up their shape language, and as a result, they end up feeling the most “balanced” or “neutral”. The rounded typeface helps round out the sharp edges of the logo “box”, and the perfectly circular earth directly contrasts with the complicated, disjointed elephant silhouette. In 2008, the logo changed pretty drastically. The entire design is extremely rectangular; the logo is containing itself into a rectangular outline. This may just be me, but this logo seems the most “crazy.” The entire logo is a rectangle, yes, but the individual rectangles within the design, seen most notably in each letter of “Animal” vary in size (and slightly in spacing), creating multiple, smaller shapes within it. Additionally, the sideways “M” creates its own box on its own axis, forcing you to look at the logo from multiple perspectives simultaneously. These two design choices break the visual flow of logo even while using one primary shape, which, at least to me, gives off the feeling of exotic and untamed, which is probably exactly what they intended. The most recent logo seems the most “friendly” and down-to-earth, which many companies nowadays are extremely worried about seeming. The entire logo, from the elephant to the font, is rounded and soft, with minimal and simplified points, which give off the feeling of softness almost to the point of meekness. It is also the logo with the least contrast between shapes, even including the one that is literally all rectangles, which makes me look at the logo all at once rather than looking at any individual part of it. It completely breaks the visual flow to be something that is instantly recognizable even with the most minimal of glances, but because it exists in a world of almost nothing but simple, minimalistic, round logos and “corporate artstyle”, it is also the least unique and offers the least character. Both prior logos, in my mind, are not only more iconic and recognizable, but also say more about what the channel has to offer.
In conclusion, shape is one of the starting points when it comes to any design, and when it comes to creating a readable and recognizable logo, it can literally make or break it, especially when you want your design to really stand out. Because shapes are so simple, we can use them to easily and effectively communicate different intentions and fish for the right emotional response. I’m curious to know which one of the Animal Planet logos are our personal favorites and why.
