What are negative / white-space logos?
A negative/white-space logo is, in short, a very clever logo. The logo has a hidden message (image) within the overall logo itself generally created within the unused (negative space) area using a combination of clever text and image positioning / manipulation. It is a completely different way of marketing your business or brand and even a talking point with potential customers. For the purpose of this blog, we shall refer to the space as ‘white-space’ as essentially this is what you will be looking for.
White-space doesn’t necessarily have to be white, It can be of any colour. The perfect negative/white space logo can appear as distinct as the positive space surrounding it depending on how the designs are created.
Negative space graphic design is highly skilled and there are many considerations that need to be thought about when creating a negative/white space logo – the charm, tone, shade, mood and expression are all important factors.
There are in fact many national brand logos that are widely and instantly recognised but have you ever noticed a hidden image within their logos? We have listed a few well known examples below!
We all know of / heard of FedEx and most people could identify who they are at first glance a courier/parcel delivery company but if you look a bit closer, they have been clever with their logo and branding – can you see the right-pointing arrow that is created within the white-space on E and X? Clever huh!
Most of us have eaten a Toblerone in our lives and if not will instantly recognise the distinctive triangular shaped box and logo, but have you ever noticed the bear that is created in the white space within the mountain graphic that sits above the text?
One of the biggest American based television networks with a distinctive logo. Have you noticed that the coloured ‘fan’ is actually representing a peacock, with a peacock’s body formed within the central white space area of the logo. The head of the peacock lies between the dark pink and purple ‘feathers’.
Everyone knows of the electronics company LG, but have you ever noticed the face that makes up the logo? The L makes up the nose and the G forms the rest of the face. LG had done this to create a friendly feel to their brand. Some also see a subtle pac-man in the logo too – can you see it?
Other white-space logo examples
We have also included a selection of other well designed white space logos below – I’m sure you will agree that these logos are excellent. We can also create negative space logos. See if you can see the image that has been created within the whitespace areas.
