Negative space in logo design

Oct 15, 2009213 appreciated comments

Negative space in logo design

It’s hard to beat a clever use of negative space in logo design. Here are 35 or so logos I enjoy that use white space well, along with the designers/agencies responsible.

A.G. Low Construction logo
By Rebecca Low

Martin Newcombe Property Maintenance logo
By buddy

Nexcite logo
By Amore
Via Blair Thomson

American Institute of Architects Center logo
By Pentagram

Ogden Plumbing logo
By Astuteo

WWF
By Sir Peter Scott, modified by Landor

FreemanWhite logo
By Malcolm Grear Designers

The Brand Union logo
By The Brand Union

Egg n Spoon logo (same day couriers)
By Thoughtful

Human logo
By Social UK

Dolphin House logo
By Ico Design

Eaton logo
By Lippincott (thanks, Brendan)

Elefont logo
By Logo Motive Designs

USA Network logo
By Peloton Design

CultureBus logo
By Pentagram

Carrefour logo
Original design examined by Miles Newlyn (thanks Rianna)

Henri Ehrhart monogram (shameless, aren’t I?)
View the design process on David Airey dot com

Sinkit logo
By smashLAB

Guild of Food Writers logo
By 300million

ED logo
By Gianni Bortolotti

Blade logo
By Subversive Design

Premier Catering logo
By Madhouse
Via Logolog

The Waterways Trust logo
By Pentagram

FedEx logo
By Lindon Leader while at Landor

Knoll logo
By NB: Studio
Via Logolog

Ryan Biggs Associates logo
By id29

Hartford Whalers logo
By Cummings & Good (thanks, Jeff)

Conception logo
By The Chase

Yoga Australia logo
By Roy Smith Design

Hands On Network logo
By Duffy & Partners

MyFonts logo
By Underware

Vanderbilt University logo
By Malcolm Grear Designers

Recycle Taiwan logo
By do you know?

NBC logo
By Steff Geissbuhler while at Chermayeff & Geismar

New Bedford Whaling Museum logo
By Malcolm Grear Designers

Mouse logo
By Johnson Banks

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213 appreciated comments, click here to add one

Al

The Guild of Foodwriters is a little bit special if you ask me and I love the ED logo as it says everything in one simple icon. Perfect!!

Oct 15th, 2009
Kaushal Karkhanis

Tough to select a fave – great collection overall! But i’ll still go with Yoga Australia – great thought + execution!

Oct 15th, 2009
Richard S

Yes – Yoga Australia is a great logo, only worry is – where did Tasmania end up!

Oct 15th, 2009
Martin Boath

Until today I had never noticed the hand in the My Fonts logo and that was only because I knew there must have been something there to find!

Special mentions for all-round genius-ness, in no particular order, go to: Martin Newcombe, WWF, FreemanWhite, Blade, Waterways Trust, FedEx (of course), Guild of Food Writers, ED, Knoll and, because it’s fun, Ogden Plumbing.

Great List David. Love this sort of stuff.

Oct 15th, 2009
David Airey

Martin, I took my time over the MyFonts one, too. Kind of like Ogden Plumbing — when I first saw it I thought the little man was running with a key, thinking, “What’s he got a key for?”

Oct 15th, 2009
Jeremy

Wonderful examples. I’ve always thought Brand Union’s was fantastic. But…there’s so many gorgeous examples here, it’s just about impossible to pick a favorite!

Oct 15th, 2009
Jake

On a recent trip to San Francisco I was impressed by the logo for their Municipal Transport Authority, “Muni”.

http://www.trioptimum.co.uk/images/muni_logo.jpg

Oct 15th, 2009
J. Pedro Ribeiro

SinkIt is definitely my favourite: simple and smart.

Oct 15th, 2009
Ian

I’m a sucker for clever use of negative space, but you’ve missed my fave of recent years. Namely the MS Mouse logo.

http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2008/02/18/microsofts-ingenious.html

BTW, I never noticed the My Fonts hand before. How dumb is that?!

Oct 15th, 2009
David Airey

Great addition, Ian. I’ve added it to the post.

Oct 15th, 2009
Victor Zuniga

I don’t get the blade one… what is there to find in it? and I just noticed the hand in myfonts too! wow… I like the Fedex logo a lot, but I think the guild of food writers is my favorite.

Oct 15th, 2009
Victor Zuniga

Hey and you forgot the egg in a spoon logo…

http://www.davidairey.com/logo-of-the-month-6/

Oct 15th, 2009
Martin Boath

Victor – look closely at the ‘a’…

Oct 15th, 2009
Sue

For sports teams, my fav is Washington Caps ice hockey logo
http://capitals.nhl.com/index.html

Took me a couple glances before I noticed the negative space is the Capital building.

Great examples, David! Love your site too, btw. Feeds my logo addiction well! :-)

Oct 15th, 2009
David Airey

Another welcome reminder, Victor. Duly added. And Sue, no worries at all. Good of you to visit.

Oct 15th, 2009
chaitanya vrk

Nice collection david.
SinkIt and Human are my favs.

Oct 15th, 2009
Superdave4eva

David, this is a great list! You certainly have few of my favorites in this post. I love the use of negative space in logo design, and I’ve done a few myself:

http://logopond.com/gallery/detail/56727

and my Logo of the Day winner:

http://logooftheday.com/?s=esperanza&search=Search

Oct 15th, 2009
Eric Azares

I do like the fact that the images are in black and white, placing more emphasis on the use of shapes.

Great collection! Now for the rest of the day I’ll be looking for hidden images in everything I see :)

Oct 15th, 2009
Andy O

Just a great collection! I caught them all and felt silly for NEVER having noticed the arrow in FedEx before this. Outstanding. Loved Egg & Spoon…all are great though!

Oct 15th, 2009
Armin

For me, it’s either the Guild of food Writers logo.

Sue, what, where? I can see no capitol building!

Oct 15th, 2009
Ed Fladung

love that egg n spoon logo wow! hadn’t seen that one before. classic.

Oct 15th, 2009
Luke Lux

This post has opened my mind! It’s so inspirational.

I have enjoyed the comments above.

Thanks to share it guys!

Oct 15th, 2009
Andy Allsop

Thanks for this collection.
Favourites have got to be MyFonts / New Bedford Whaling Museum logos!

Oct 15th, 2009
Dexter

This is the first time I have noticed that arrow in FedEx logo! I’m blind.

Oct 15th, 2009
Jeff

Whalers logo was designed by CT-based Cummings & Good.

Oct 15th, 2009
Shane

Great post,some really clever and inspirational logos.
Thanks.

Oct 15th, 2009
Chris Piascik

Good collection! The Hartford Whalers logo was done by Peter Good. http://www.cummings-good.com/

Oct 15th, 2009
Sue

Armin,

The peak of the capital is pointing up to the eagle’s head. :)

Oct 15th, 2009
Brad Sherrill

Another great example is the Big Ten Conference Logo. Check it out – http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/big10/sports/genrel/auto_action/2141747.jpeg

Oct 15th, 2009
Armin

Sue,

Yeah, I see it, I think. Thanks!

Oct 15th, 2009
andy

I think USA Today is very clever and the best of the lot here. Not only does it make you see something that isn’t there. It makes you ignore something that blatantly is there! (The odd shapes petruding from the ‘U’ and ‘A’)

Oct 15th, 2009
justine

Great inspirtion. I love the knoll, ed and the egg and spoon logos especially.

Oct 15th, 2009
Myself

What about the Batman logo?

A black bat or a yellow screaming mouth (well, a child’s one with 4 teeth).

Oct 15th, 2009
Derek Kimball

Favorites from the list: “Guild of food writers”, “FedEx”, “Egg n’ Spoon”, “Blade”, “Ehrhard Wine”, “Human”, and “Hartford Whalers”.

David I remember seeing your “Ehrhart Wine” concept posted on your personal blog a while back. It’s quite suprising the client chose one of your other concepts over the creative wine and bottle design. Oh well, it still lives through blog posts like this one (and i’m sure your new book ;)

Nice post.

Oct 15th, 2009
sam

wonderful, i really liked FedEx, Yoga Australia, NBC, Mouse.
what about this
http://saedhudaib.com/images/logodesign_01.jpg

Oct 15th, 2009
Josiah Jost

One of the best negative space roundups I have ever seen. They are all complete gems. Especially love hartford whalers and newcombe.

Thanks for compiling, David!

Oct 15th, 2009
Freddy Krueger

you forgot about H-STREET SKATEBOARDS

Oct 15th, 2009
Jonathan Gold

Did a double take at that ED logo – looks uncannily like a logo I did a couple of years ago (thought executed way better)
http://jongold.tumblr.com/post/121467856/looking-through-some-old-work-from-college-still

Great post though – I never get tired of looking at the Guild of Food Writers logo, absolutely awesome.

Oct 15th, 2009
Mario

Great collection!

Oct 15th, 2009
Patrick

Posters from the 60′s and 70′s, for Bill Graham concert venues, were great in their use of negative space. Hey man, I’m a psychadelic poster reader.
http://www.fillmoreposter.com/

Oct 15th, 2009
gerard syms

I really believe that it’s an art for a designer to create a successful logo using negative space and it’s an aspect of design that gets my mind up to all sorts of mental gymnastics. Great post, David!

Oct 15th, 2009
José Pedro Campeã

It’s hard to choose just ONE. These are very good logotypes!
But right now if you ask me that…maybe I choose FedEx, because it’s so subtle that I didn’t notice the arrow until 3 or 4 years ago because someone told me. All these years I never knew there was an arrow in the “Ex”!

Oct 15th, 2009
José Ignacio Horta Fischer

Congratulations!
Is a complete list where show the hard is not impossible!

American Institute of Architects Center logo, hit logo, short, intense and comunicative!!!!!

Oct 15th, 2009
Manuel Martensen

Always loved the MyFonts hand, but I totally not get the negative space in FedEx and must say that it looks awful. But no matter me liking it or not, why is FedEx in this list? :)

Oct 15th, 2009
Keith

Great collection, David.

I’ve always liked the Formula 1 logo (though that might also be influenced by my motorsport fixation). Hard to find a good-sized example of it, but this gives an idea:

http://f1store.formula1.com/stores/f1/artwork/english/interface/header/f1-logo.gif

Oct 16th, 2009
yesmatey

Awesome logo’s, especially the Dolphin House and panda logo!

Oct 16th, 2009
Dean

The FedEx arrow is great – never noticed this! Guess it plays to the subconscious :)

Oct 16th, 2009
Gabriel

recycle taiwan looks like a swastik

Oct 16th, 2009
jak

I subscribe this logolovedesign site and i have to say that this is my most favorite post so far…They are unbelievable..i like the logo of “human” the most…it’s super!!!!

Oct 16th, 2009
Sam

Would the Enron logo be considered a use of negative space?

Oct 16th, 2009
Ray Leigh

Hello David.
Once again thanks for the fine gallery of design essays. Interesting how many, me included have never noticed this and that isn’t it?

Your selection brings to the forefront the essential thought in the creative process that the punters have difficulty in understanding.

When you sight a logo for a few seconds, even though the objective may be a serious branding exercise, the question always arises; why so bloody expensive?

I often wonder if we shouldn’t play around with ours.

Take good care and remember to get all the joy you can everyday.
Ps. I think our friend who wrote genius-ness ( bit like your wonderful Irish stout that) meant ingenuity.

Oct 16th, 2009
Ray Leigh

Ha ha David. Henri Erhart does it for me! You cheeky devil.

Oct 16th, 2009
Chris

I really like the Egg n Spoon logo, as this is really a creative logo bcoz E defines both egg n spoon inside it.

Oct 16th, 2009
Rajesh Pancholi

So clever in its simplicity, love these, although thats not to say they are easy to create, takes time on most occasions, admire some of these creations. Plenty of favourites in there.

Oct 16th, 2009
Stephen Webb

Negative space is always difficult to incorporate in logos, but looking at this list of examples it is surprising just how many excellent and well known logos there are out there.

Amongst them I’d have to say that FedEx and the WWF have two of the most recognisable logos in the world, so maybe this illustrates that when used well negative space can be very successful.

I would be interested to know what year each logo was designed, especially those two. They all seem to have a time-less quality to them by their simple nature; you certainly couldn’t pin them down to a particular era. I seem to recall that FedEx have had the same logo for years, so maybe using negative space is also a solution to needing a logo rehash every decade!

Oct 16th, 2009
Martin Boath

Hi Ray, thanks for your concern but ‘genius-ness’ was indeed what I intended on typing. Call it light-hearted tomfoolery, you could even stretch it (considerably) to humour, but it was an intentional misuse of the English language.

Thanks for the proof-reading though; glad you’ve got my back ;)

And David, very well done on the 7,000 hits in the first 3hrs on this post! Goodness knows how many you’re up to now.

Oct 16th, 2009
Felix Oppendorf

Don’t forget about the bluewin logo.

Oct 16th, 2009
andi

“Guild of Food Writers logo” is genius! But most of them are awesome – but i don’t get the WWF logo – it’s a cute panda and with lots of imagination i could spot a ‘W’ or two, but where is the ‘F’ ?

Oct 16th, 2009
David Airey

Thanks for the props, Martin. And for all the comments from every one else.

Since this post was published 24 hours it has received 45,000 views. Not too shabby.

Keith, I would’ve added the F1 logo, but the last time I showed it here, I was asked to remove it due to copyright. Strange, but hey.

Andi, you’re looking too hard at the WWF logo. It’s not a monogram. Just a panda.

Oct 16th, 2009
Kevin Burr

There’s nothing better than waking up in the morning to discover a new post on Logo Design Love waiting in my Inbox. Thanks for sharing, David. Funny thing, the college I went to is about 2 miles down the street from Vanderbilt.

Oct 16th, 2009
DAN

fedex, brilliant — mouse best one!!!

Oct 16th, 2009
Tessa Carroll

It is certainly difficult to choose a favorite logo from the ones here. Negative space is a great way to convey a message, however to properly pull it off is rather difficult. The designers of the above logos all deserve props for the great job they did incorporating negative space.

Tessa Carroll
VBP OutSourcing

Oct 16th, 2009
Brendan deVallance

Eaton is by Lippincott.

Oct 16th, 2009
Victor Zuniga

@Martin Boath

Thanks I see the knife in the blade logo now :)

Oct 16th, 2009
Marc

Just a heads up, Landor developed the new FedEx identity, not Lindon Leader.

http://www.landor.com/index.cfm?do=ourwork.casehistory&cn=1157

Oct 16th, 2009
David Airey

I’ve just added a few more credits to the designs. Thanks for your help, Brendan, Jeff, and Chris.

Marc, thanks also for commenting. It was actually Lindon who designed the logo, albeit while at Landor, so you’re right to mention the agency, and I’ve updated the logo credit to reflect it.

Oct 16th, 2009
Jacqui Sharples

Perfect timing :) just doing a branding brief at uni, Guild of Food Writers my fave, never seen the Blade one before, nice! I much prefer the Conception logo from The Chase to the Human logo
http://www.thechase.co.uk/portfolio/project.php?category=logos&project=4&pic=1, so simply perfect!
Great post, I am now inspired :)

Oct 16th, 2009
David Airey

Excellent addition, Jacqui. It’s been a long time since I last saw the Conception C logo, but it’s one you don’t forget.

Oct 16th, 2009
Daniel

I love all of these, negative space is lots of fun. If I had to pick a favorite, it might be Yoga Australia. Like many others, I’ve looked at the FedEx logo hundreds of times and never noticed the arrow, so that wins points for subtelty (and creativity).

Thanks for posting these, I enjoyed them all.
Daniel

PS. David, I do like your Henri Ehrhart monogram quite a bit.

Oct 16th, 2009
JFonseca

well, this is a collection of well done and concise logo’s. Some seem not to have a great effort behind the elaboration as others show a lot work. Of course that they all required a lot of pacience and work.

I’m divided between Ryan Biggs Associates logo, Premier catering logo and mouse logo. My decisions are influnced by my interest in typography… :)

great post by the way.

Oct 16th, 2009
Scott

One great one that is not mentioned is the Big Ten logo. (college football) because there are 11 teams in the Big Ten conference, they designer put the number 11 in the negative space.

Oct 16th, 2009
Jason Schwartz

There are a lot of classics in this batch.

Favorite… USA.
The WWF and NBC logos are classics. Expect to see these hanging around for a while. :)

Oct 16th, 2009
Bevans

Very nice collection. I’m glad other people like the USA network logo as much as I do.

The two on there I really liked the most were SinkIt and the Food Writer’s guild (which are what, restaurant critics?).

Oct 16th, 2009
sum

i like all these logos!

Oct 17th, 2009
stephen

Some simple yet fantastic designs here. Inspirational. Thanks for the list.

Oct 17th, 2009
David Airey

I believe so, Bevans.

Thanks for the comments, folks. And Scott, good of you to explain the Big Ten logo. I wondered why there was an eleven in there.

Oct 17th, 2009
Mike Pooposterous

I have a tie vote of Ryan Biggs Associates, and FreemanWhite

Oct 17th, 2009
Jonze

I’ve never liked the Mouse one! I see what they were doing, I just think it could have been done a bazillion times better.

Oct 18th, 2009
Oscar P

I love that Sink it logo, but I think the conception and ED logos are the most efficient.
I was looking for the old Southern California Edison(SCE) logo, but I couldnt find it. The letters are arranged to look like a plug and I never noticed it until my Graphic Design instructor pointed it out.

Oct 18th, 2009
jtchurch

Some great logos here.

I’ve always thought a successful logo should work without color or effect first to really be strong.

Also…
The ED logo while effective and simple…
Has been soooo overplayed, unlike any other logo idea I’ve ever seen. Nearly every electrical company from Sacramento to Boston has used the negative space of E for an electrical plug.

Oct 18th, 2009
Kiren

The yoga one is amazing! Very well thought out. Never noticed the hand in the Myfonts logo, really cool:)

Oct 18th, 2009
Pmoney

how bout the mens wearhouse tux logo? one of my favorites

Oct 18th, 2009
Clare

I can’t believe I never noticed that arrow in the Fedex logo!! This is a really interesting set of logos

Oct 18th, 2009
jtchurch

actually…
I’ve never noticed the arrow in FedEx either…
-that may be a sign that it’s not really working (as intended).

Oct 19th, 2009
Nathan

Wow, some of these are just ingenious. Negative space is one of the trickiest things to pull off, but man…when it works, it works!

Oct 19th, 2009
Kostadin

Very good selection David, I enjoyed it very much.

Oct 19th, 2009
Just Jennifer

those are awesome.

Oct 19th, 2009
Martin Boath

jtchurch – I couldn’t agree more. What’s the point in having the arrow in the logo if no one can see it? What they should have done is just put the arrow next to the type, much bigger too, possibly in black…

Oct 19th, 2009
Delio Rossi

Regarding the Harford Whalers logo;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hartford_Whalers

“The original Hartford Whalers logo (1979–1992), designed by Peter Good, a Connecticut-based graphic designer.”

This was always one of my favorite hockey logos.

Oct 19th, 2009
Ian D

Did you notice the arrow in the Fedex logo?

Oct 19th, 2009
Flor

These are all great. I love the food writers logo. It’s a very elegant solution. I’m also a fan of the Hartford Whalers logo. I find it very crisp.

Oct 20th, 2009
Geoff

You should add a Big 10 Logo here, too. There are 11 universities in the Big 10 with the addition of The Pennsylvania State University in 1990. The Big 10 decided not to become the “Big 11,” but did change its logo to reflect the 11th university.

http://grfx.cstv.com/confs/big10/graphics/big10-08-hdr-logo.gif

Oct 20th, 2009
Peter V Cook

We’re pretty fond of our negative space logo too.

Oct 20th, 2009
Amanda Vlahakis

I LOVE negative space.

Lately when designing I’ve tried hard to create something clever using negative space but always fail to find a way of doing it ….one day maybe, one day.

Try, try and try again they say. It’s like my eyes just can’t see the opportunity in negative space.

My favs out of those are Nexcite, Ogden, Egg n Spoon, Sink It, Ed and Knoll.

And, OMG I’ve done something similar to the use of the M in Premier Catering myself (http://www.trulyace.com/blog/design-projects/olympian-mindset-identity-design-project/) – literally only about two weeks ago.

Oh well, that harks back to my words about simplicity and originality struggling to co-exist in the fullest sense of the word – http://www.trulyace.com/blog/thoughts-on-design/can-originality-simplicity-co-exist/

Nice list! :)

Amanda

Oct 20th, 2009
Paul

Great marks, but I think you should definitely add the Blackberry logo to the list!

Oct 20th, 2009
Davy Dooms

http://www.wolda.org/showcase/logo/458

Oct 20th, 2009
Jasmyn Madison

Great use of negative space is definitely an art. I have to say the WWF logo is still one of my all-time favorites. It is creative simplicity at its best!

Thanks for the list!

Oct 21st, 2009
Danny Hinde

I love negative spacing in logo design! My favourite would have to be the infamous FedEx logo, it’s brilliant! Nice collection David!

Oct 21st, 2009
Guilherme Chaves

About Carrefour logo, all that I know, that it’s a french company and a french logo, with french colors, but I don’t know who did that think…

Oct 21st, 2009
Noreen Blanluet

I grew up in France and am very familiar with the Carrefour logo, and yet NEVER even noticed the negative space until you mentioned it! :)
My favourite has got to be the Yoga Australia one, close second Egg & Spoon!

Thanks for the post x

Oct 21st, 2009
Joshua Tumelty

Great selection of logos. Negative space is definitely something that is very difficult to work with, so kudos to the designers.

I’m a fan of the ones that are a little more subtle. There’s that “ah ha” moment when you finally recognize something within the logo and just think, “wow, brilliant!”

Not necessarily utilizing negative space, but I had a similar moment when I first realized the Milwaukee Brewers logo was an M and B.

Also, you guys should check out the new hertz logo by Landor. It’s a nice evolution of where they were.

Oct 21st, 2009
Budhi D Dwijaatmaja

And the winner is…… taraaammm … F1.

Oct 22nd, 2009
Roy Smith

David, thanks for including Yoga Australia. I’m honoured to see it sitting alongside these iconic logos. Great post, as per usual.

Oct 22nd, 2009
jim

some great logos, i love the Sink It one.

Oct 22nd, 2009
Michael

I think it’s a bit of a stretch to say your Henri Erhart monogram employs negative space in the way most (all?) of the other logos you present here do.

The black lines portray both the letters and the wine glass and bottle, whilst the white space does nothing – other than represent an absence of black!

(I’m not making a comment about the quality of the design – I just don’t think it is an example of negative space)

Oct 23rd, 2009
David Airey

Michael, I think you’re right that my design doesn’t compare to the other examples, but you’ll be pushed to find any wine bottles that come in halves. And in that respect, I consider the negative space from the uppercase E to give enough indication that it’s also a bottle.

Oct 23rd, 2009
Fernanda

Awesome

Oct 23rd, 2009
Raja Sandhu

Always worthwhile checking your site out David, so much you share freely with others in your humble and fashionable manner.

This post on negative space logos is one of many favorites!

- Raja Sandhu

PS: Nice to see Roy Smith’s logo work in there!

PSS: your’s too David ;)

Oct 24th, 2009
Réal

My fav. is the recycle one from Taiwan… the blade one i didnt get till a second glance at the letter a.

Oct 24th, 2009
Rick

Yoga Australia logo

Oct 24th, 2009
simbel

Surely had a friendly chuckle at the timeless FedEx example; but I think my favourites are the Martin Newcombe and Guild of Food writers.
Overall, wonderful selection, thank you!

Oct 26th, 2009
Nancy

My grandfather pointed the arrow in the FedEx logo out to me quite a few years ago and now I see it every time I look at it, almost to the point where it bothers me!

Oct 26th, 2009
Orlando Ramos

if you take good care of the positive, the negative will take care of itself.

Orlando Ramos

Oct 27th, 2009
Chris

Definitely the Recycle Taiwan one. I couldn’t stop staring at it, watching it flip-flop.

If you look at just the white space, it’s just diagonal crosshairs with a little white curve attached to each side.

It’s simple, elegant…brilliant!

Oct 27th, 2009
Rita

I have lots of favorite but my top picks are ED, Guild and the Recycle. Even at their simplest, the designs are astonishing and clever.

Oct 27th, 2009
Ray Leigh

no pun intended David, concerning the “case” choice for the bottle?

You know, there are lessons for everyone from you and your work.
Not only about design but about how people should treat each other.
Take bloody good care and continue to get all the joy you can every day.
Thanks again.

Oct 27th, 2009
Matman

I like this one:

http://www.redkeyeducation.com/index.cfm

Oct 28th, 2009
Jeff

For me, definitely my favorite is the Egg n Spoon logo (logo in monogram). It’s like a logo in a logo. I also really like Premiere Catering (tux), Hartford Whalers (graphic monogram and whale tail), and Yoga Australia (country). Thanks for this article!

Nov 2nd, 2009
Jozef

The WWF logo is not just a panda, but a skull as well.

Nov 3rd, 2009
Shane

I love the WWF logo – always have.

I also just had an ‘aaah’ moment; I hadn’t noticed the arrow on the FedEx logo before :)

Thanks for compiling the list.

Nov 3rd, 2009
Chris Gauron

Really an interesting way of showing negative space in logo design. Some of them were really clever. Thanks for the post.

Nov 4th, 2009
Nathan

I’m surprised you didn’t include the Federal Express logo for its infamous arrow. Or would that have been to easy?

Nov 5th, 2009
Amanda Vlahakis

To be honest I think I will personally scream if I see that FedEx logo mentioned in any more blogs …. don’t know how everyone else feels.

Perhaps David feels the same way about it.

Nov 5th, 2009
Ray Leigh

White space !The article is about the use of white space. Everyone knows about FedEx now.

Nov 5th, 2009
Ray Leigh

Its there!

Nov 5th, 2009
chopeh

Love the Nexcite one, subtle but oh so “I-wish-I-thought-of-that” clever.

Nov 6th, 2009
Ana

Really good collection!!
Thank you very much. I’ll try to improve my design now with this ideas.
Big thank you!

Nov 6th, 2009
Shawn Bird

Wow, that was really good. I didn’t see the hand in myfonts till someone pointed it out in the comments.

Nov 7th, 2009
ArleyM

Awesome list; I love surprise logo elements. Got some negative space on my logo.

Nov 9th, 2009
swati

I see E and W in the Freeman White logo..where’s the F?

Nov 10th, 2009
Crystal Walker

Wow what a beautiful collection! Less is more!

Nov 11th, 2009
Mike Kingscott

Excellent collection sir, bookmarked for inspiration :-)

Nov 12th, 2009
Stephen A

Here is one that I just discovered:

http://www.gamedb.com/

The logo has the B inside the D, and is also shaped like a game controller. Very clever :)

Nov 19th, 2009
Paul Moffatt

Beautiful selection, here is a logo I designed with negative space in mind:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pmoffatt/3629722432/

Nov 26th, 2009
Ashely Adams

Beautiful little things, aren’t they? And only humans can perceive them.

I have always appreciated the clever use of negative space in design. They just make a logo so much more interesting.

Nov 30th, 2009
tim

The arrow in the fedex logo has always been a favorite. I also love the arrows in the 20×200.com logo.

That whalers logo is new to me. Pretty awesome.

Nov 30th, 2009
Pam

I’ll always love the WWF logo – it’s classic. I also love the simplicity of the USA network logo – it’s just perfect.

I also never noticed the arrow in the FedEx logo – as many times as I’ve seen it! (was a “doh!” moment) Glad I wasn’t the only one who had been missing it!

Very good examples. I didn’t get the Yoga one (I guess it’s supposed to be Australia in the gap of her arm/leg?) And I didn’t see the hand in the MyFonts logo either. I love seeing compilations like this. It spurs the creativity.

Nov 30th, 2009
ser berimor

Amazing logo collection.

Nov 30th, 2009
Chris

I love the typographic ideas. The Octagon logo (designed by The Partners) is another…
http://www.thecrossedcow.com/wp-content/images/octagon-logo-xl.jpg

Nov 30th, 2009
Leszek

There is a hand in My Fonts, wow! Great list David :-)

Dec 2nd, 2009
Jean-Baptiste Bolon

The Carrefour logo was designed by French Graphic Designer Mr Christian Rime.

Dec 3rd, 2009
David Airey

Thanks for the info, Jean-Baptiste.

Paul, very nicely done. I like your work.

Dec 9th, 2009
crumblepie

The mouse logo is my favorite, followed by the Egg n Spoon logo. I like how the product is displayed on the logo itself for the first, and the smoothness of the second.

Dec 10th, 2009
Vicki Brown

Hi

I love this style of logo! Here’s one I designed for our company…

http://www.if-fma.com

Vicki

Dec 21st, 2009
Nikhil

Amazing collection, just inspirational.
In My Fonts logo, what is in negative space?

Jan 18th, 2010
Dezayner

Hi, I am Dezayner, I love the human logo, especially the white space. It is sperm cell, isn’t it?
@Nikhil, I think in “my fonts” logo, the white space is a shape like ‘a hand’. Correct me if I wrong.

Jan 27th, 2010
Ana De Leon

great use of negative space. my favorite was the “eaton” logo. It inspires me for the logo design I am working on right now.

Feb 5th, 2010
Jordan

Great collection.
Of course foodwriters guild is my hands down favourite, and a step above the rest in my humble opinion. I completely don’t get the WWF though, it baffles me. @David Airey – if it’s “just a panda” then there is no secret reveal, i.e. no clever use of negative space? Rather it is a well crafted piece of positive space??
@ Josef – I can’t see a skull either?
Great set though and brilliant to see all together.

Feb 6th, 2010
David Airey

Jordan, it’s the negative space that completes the image of the panda. Try looking at the back-leg in isolation. Looks like a strange shape, but add some negative space formed by the semi-border of the front-half, et voila.

Feb 11th, 2010
Miguel

Not sure if anyone mentioned this, but the BigTen logo from the U.S. college football league is a brilliant example of problem solving using negative space.

In the early 1990s the BigTen league expanded from 10 to 11 members, making the logo and name someone obsolete. Instead of changing the name, a numerical eleven was carved out of the text: BigTen, in between the G and the T.

A brilliant solution. The problem now is that the league is thinking about expanding to 12 or 14 members. Let’s see how they solve that problem visually!

Check it out:

http://gridirongoddess.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/big-ten-logo.jpg

Feb 17th, 2010
Heather Louise

Here’s a couple of classics:

http://www.daveburdon.com/#208937/H-Electrics

http://www.daveburdon.com/#243720/Scottish-Emergency-Dental-Service

Feb 23rd, 2010
Tim

Isnt the ED logo actually made by Josiah of Siah Design? It was ED Electric???

Feb 23rd, 2010
Riley Summerlin

Wow, those are some wonderful examples! I’ve always really liked the WWF logo. Previously, I’d never seen the My Fonts logo… very clever! It seems that the use of negative space really adds a “timelessness” to logos, as fonts and colors can lose favor, but a quality, striking image lasts. Thanks for the collection!

Mar 3rd, 2010
Joyce

My favorites are the Sink It and Guild of Food Writer logos. Love the ED logo too.

Mar 12th, 2010
Bárbara

I love the Guild of Food Writers logo! that´s the best one!
So simple, a little shy so you have to look with a straight eye and then.. understand it right away!

I agree with you that your Henri Ehrhart monogram works with the ngative space from the uppercase E.

And Paul.. I love your logo too!

Thank you David for this great collection!

Mar 13th, 2010
Fabian

This is what I love the most about identity design, creating something from the “nothingness”

Mar 25th, 2010
Brian

Ah the whalers logo is one of the best. I’m from hartford and I sure wish the whalers were still around

Mar 28th, 2010
Jason

Excellent collection of logos using negative space. Difficult to choose my fave but I liking the yoga Australia one.

Apr 8th, 2010
Rianna

I believe the Carrefour logo was redesigned by Miles Newlyn:

http://www.newlyn.com/work/client/carrefour

Apr 13th, 2010
AJams

what about thirty-twos logo? (the snowboard boot brand)

Apr 18th, 2010
Miriam

I never noticed the C in the Carrefour logo!! amazing!!

Apr 19th, 2010
David Airey

Thanks for that, Rianna. Much obliged.

May 3rd, 2010
Michael

Another good one is the DirecTV logo.

May 8th, 2010
Scott

University of Portland’s logo is a good example too – the white space in the middle is supposed to represent the willamette river.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_lakwC58Lz-M/SQE7bdxU5YI/AAAAAAAAAN0/Nqns_NQYhdw/s320/portland+logo.jpg

May 8th, 2010
Millenion

I like the WWF logo best.

May 9th, 2010
Omkar Khair

Loved the Yoga Australia!!!

May 9th, 2010
Utkarsha

Feels kinda a stupid when I realized that though I had seen the My font hand earlier, I never saw the arrow in fedex. Now I wonder how I could I not notice the most obvious thing in my office.
Good post

May 18th, 2010
Pauline

Loves the Knoll logo! So cute, and yet its great in graphics. Thanks for sharing this, I was just told about this website, and in complete love with it right now! Keep up the good work! ;)

May 19th, 2010
Sarah

I would have to go with the Guild of Food Writers. Pure genius!

May 22nd, 2010
Nicholas Burman

I’ve always thought negative space should positively be used.
Reminds me of the new Showcase (TV network) logo.

Jun 4th, 2010
Theraisa K

I think the Ryan Biggs one is pretty clever – simple yet effective. Some of them you have to look at a little more closely to see the hidden meanings/messages/images (like the Yoga Australia one).

Jun 9th, 2010
Kiesha

Who knew that simple could be so effective, but yet there is definitely a complexity to each design. The “hidden pictures” are cool, but the logos themselves are effective and memorable.

Jun 13th, 2010
Justin

I always liked Surface Magazine’s logo:
http://www.blacksheepandprodigalsons.com/press/press_surface_jan07_1.jpg

Jun 27th, 2010
Judy Frary

I found this article very fascinating, and is an excellent showcase of creativity from around the world. Thanks David!

Jul 5th, 2010
Judy Frary

Oh, you should also check out the logo for TicketSoup.com, that’s a personal favourite.

http://www.ticketsoup.com

Jul 5th, 2010
SLW

This is inspiring! It’s giving me great ideas about how to incorporate something from an old logo into a new one without just changing the external shape.

I have always loved the USA, and Hartford Whalers logos!

Jul 6th, 2010
DMD

Great collection of logos. I especially like the yoga one and the American Institute of Architects Center logo.

Jul 20th, 2010
Steve

How about the Big Ten logo (hiding a “12″ inside the letters for the number of teams).

Jul 23rd, 2010
Jois

The entire collection is very inspiring!

You should also check the Toblerone logo, well, the chocolate is my favorite.

Jul 30th, 2010
James

My guess is the Recycle Taiwan logo was designed by the Third Reich..?

Aug 23rd, 2010
milkRay

F1 logo is best!

Aug 25th, 2010
Flor

The Blade and Premier Catering logos are positively brilliant!

Aug 30th, 2010