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.
Martin, it took me a few with the MyFonts one. Kind of like Ogden Plumbing — when I first saw it I wondered what the little man was doing running with a key.
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!
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.
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:
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!
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’)
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 ;)
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/
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!
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”!
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? :)
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:
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!!!!
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.
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.
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!
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.
“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’ ?
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.
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.
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 :)
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.
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… :)
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.
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.
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.
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…
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.
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.
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!
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!
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.
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!
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!
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
Jordan, it’s the negative space that completes the panda. Look at the back-leg. A strange shape in isolation, but the negative space formed by the semi-border of the front-half fills the gap.
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!
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!
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.
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
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! ;)
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).
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.
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!
Nice collection. I’ve been a huge fan of the FedEx logo for years. ED and Egg n Spoon are a good ones as well. A little concerned about the appropriation of the UPS bow and cross string into the Knoll logo. Not sure of the story behind it ; )
I love working with negative space, tho I do not yet have a lot of experience it is nice to see a lot of pieces in one place as examples of how much can be done with it.
Its a poor execution, but a very smart idea. In football, when “The Big Ten” added another and became eleven, they revised the logo. “The Big Ten” is a more impactful name than “The Big Eleven”, so I love their solve!
The conception logo is just underneath the name ‘cummings & good’. I couldn’t help thinking this could have also been a great logo for them. Perhaps the G for ‘Good’ could have been made from a sperm with a wonky tail?
Negative space is brilliant, but it applies to branding on all levels. Black with just audio on a TV spot… silence in a radio commercial… it has applications beyond the visual.
Rock ‘n roll has some great examples of white space. The Beatles famous “White Album” is probably the most obvious example. Led Zeppelin released Zeppelin IV with no name or title on it, which is certainly a form of negative space. Likewise with Metallica’s “Black Album”.
Anything that intrigues because of what is lacking is, to me, negative space.
WOW! Great use of negative space in logo design – never saw such a collection! I freaked out when I saw the hand in the my fonts logo – wow! Didn’t even see it until another commenter pointed it out. And the -> in Fedex has been there all this while? No way! The Guild of Food writers is Genius! And I didn’t get the Henri Eckhart logo @ first, bt then I went back and saw that the E was 3/4ths of a wine bottle! Amazing! The Yoga australia has the australian map in it, right? In between the lady’s leg and arm? Amazing stuff here, Dave. And Thanks for stopping by my site to give me some much needed advice. Working on it, definitely. Thanks a lot for this – I’m inspired! Working on a logo design presently, and this collection is inspiring! Thanks again.
I love these kind of designs and im currently writing my dissertation about this kind of logo and whether or not having a ‘clever logo’ like these actually makes that particular company more memorable.
One of my particular favourites has got to be for The Pittsburgh Zoo
These are fabulous. Myfonts seems a little less compelling, although cool in itself. Love the Malcolm Grear designs (one of my favorite designers). The ED electrical plug is wunderbar!
I recently designed a logo similar to some of the these and found a bit of a problem when used on different backgrounds and had to add some white around the edges like the nbc logo has on coloured backrounds. It would be interesting to see these logo used on different colours in different contexts to see how they work.
What a great collection! Good to see the classics along with some newer more obscure logos. I can believe I JUST found this blog… bit late to get on the band wagon.
Malcolm Grear is the most amazing designer of all time to master the art of negative space – form and counterform – in the mark-making arena.
Hands down.
Negative-space logos are just wonderful, and has great semantic value, because once you see that trick in logo, you never forget it :)
And I was very surprised to see MyFonts logo here, I was wondering and wondering what it has in it’s negative space … but once I found out it is a hand, I will never forget it.
—
@Robert: I like the concept of a present that was done with two arrows, also love the word-play, but the colour combination personaly I don’t think it’s suited. I would go less ‘CMYK’ and more natural, because there are ‘natural values’ that represents the idea of a changing present nowdays … if you know what I mean, I hope I didn’t complicate it too much :)
—
And as a reply, here is my logo in negative space (it has hidden S in a letter Ž – those letters are initials of my name and last name): http://zetko.si/stran-v-prenovi.png
I can’t design logos to save my life, but could spent hours a day looking at them. I think logos that involve negative space are the ones that wow me the most. Although it’s really simple, I love the USA logo – so much so I find myself very distracted by the logo in the bottom right corner of the screen when I’m watching the channel. Great list, never gets old!
One thing I believe that has not been mentioned about the Ford logo is that the “font” used is an adptation of Mr. Ford’s actual signature. Google “Henry Ford signature” and you’ll see what I mean.
Thank you for posting this amazing collection. I agree it’s hard to pick a favorite, but when I saw the Yoga Australia logo, I drew in a quick breath – its brilliance took me by surprise.
5 years on and they still look brilliant. A great compilation of negative space logos. They’re all brilliant but Recycle Taiwan and Knoll are my favourties here!
Great article. You have included some of the logos I didn’t and vice versa. I know your post a huge collection, but I focused rather on well known brands.
Nice collection, David! I made a fun Instagram post a while back with little movies that put the images hidden in the negative space back into the original logos. Check them out here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CC3eYJPASCe/
Comments
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!!
Tough to select a fave – great collection overall! But i’ll still go with Yoga Australia – great thought + execution!
Yes – Yoga Australia is a great logo, only worry is – where did Tasmania end up!
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.
Martin, it took me a few with the MyFonts one. Kind of like Ogden Plumbing — when I first saw it I wondered what the little man was doing running with a key.
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!
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
SinkIt is definitely my favourite: simple and smart.
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?!
Great addition, Ian. Added to the post.
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.
Victor – look closely at the ‘a’…
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! :-)
Nice collection david.
SinkIt and Human are my favs.
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
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 :)
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!
For me, it’s either the Guild of food Writers logo.
Sue, what, where? I can see no capitol building!
love that egg n spoon logo wow! hadn’t seen that one before. classic.
This post has opened my mind! It’s so inspirational.
I have enjoyed the comments above.
Thanks to share it guys!
Thanks for this collection.
Favourites have got to be MyFonts / New Bedford Whaling Museum logos!
This is the first time I have noticed that arrow in FedEx logo! I’m blind.
Whalers logo was designed by CT-based Cummings & Good.
Great post,some really clever and inspirational logos.
Thanks.
Good collection! The Hartford Whalers logo was done by Peter Good. http://www.cummings-good.com/
Armin,
The peak of the capital is pointing up to the eagle’s head. :)
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
Sue,
Yeah, I see it, I think. Thanks!
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’)
Great inspirtion. I love the knoll, ed and the egg and spoon logos especially.
What about the Batman logo?
A black bat or a yellow screaming mouth (well, a child’s one with 4 teeth).
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.
wonderful, i really liked FedEx, Yoga Australia, NBC, Mouse.
what about this
http://saedhudaib.com/images/logodesign_01.jpg
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!
you forgot about H-STREET SKATEBOARDS
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.
Great collection!
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/
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!
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”!
Congratulations!
Is a complete list where show the hard is not impossible!
American Institute of Architects Center logo, hit logo, short, intense and comunicative!!!!!
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? :)
Manuel, the negative space between the “E” and the “X” is a large arrow, indicating they move stuff from one place to another.
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
Awesome logo’s, especially the Dolphin House and panda logo!
The FedEx arrow is great – never noticed this! Guess it plays to the subconscious :)
recycle taiwan looks like a swastik
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!!!!
Would the Enron logo be considered a use of negative space?
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.
Ha ha David. Henri Erhart does it for me! You cheeky devil.
I really like the Egg n Spoon logo, as this is really a creative logo bcoz E defines both egg n spoon inside it.
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.
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!
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.
Don’t forget about the bluewin logo.
“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’ ?
Thanks for the props, Martin. And for everyone’s comments.
Keith, I would’ve added the F1 logo, but last time I was asked to remove it due to copyright. Tightly policed.
Andi, you might be looking too hard. It’s just a panda.
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.
fedex, brilliant — mouse best one!!!
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
Eaton is by Lippincott.
@Martin Boath
Thanks I see the knife in the blade logo now :)
Just a heads up, Landor developed the new FedEx identity, not Lindon Leader.
http://www.landor.com/index.cfm?do=ourwork.casehistory&cn=1157
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 Lindon who designed the logo, albeit while at Landor, so you’re right. Updated.
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 :)
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.
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.
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.
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.
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. :)
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?).
i like all these logos!
Some simple yet fantastic designs here. Inspirational. Thanks for the list.
I think so, Bevans.
Thanks for the comments, and for explaining the Big Ten logo, Scott. I wondered what the eleven was for.
I have a tie vote of Ryan Biggs Associates, and FreemanWhite
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.
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.
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.
The yoga one is amazing! Very well thought out. Never noticed the hand in the Myfonts logo, really cool:)
how bout the mens wearhouse tux logo? one of my favorites
I can’t believe I never noticed that arrow in the Fedex logo!! This is a really interesting set of logos
actually…
I’ve never noticed the arrow in FedEx either…
-that may be a sign that it’s not really working (as intended).
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!
Very good selection David, I enjoyed it very much.
those are awesome.
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…
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.
Did you notice the arrow in the Fedex logo?
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.
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
We’re pretty fond of our negative space logo too.
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
Great marks, but I think you should definitely add the Blackberry logo to the list!
http://www.wolda.org/showcase/logo/458
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!
I love negative spacing in logo design! My favourite would have to be the infamous FedEx logo, it’s brilliant! Nice collection David!
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…
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
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.
And the winner is…… taraaammm … F1.
David, thanks for including Yoga Australia. I’m honoured to see it sitting alongside these iconic logos. Great post, as per usual.
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!
My fav. is the recycle one from Taiwan… the blade one i didnt get till a second glance at the letter a.
Yoga Australia logo
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!
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!
if you take good care of the positive, the negative will take care of itself.
Orlando Ramos
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!
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.
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.
I like this one:
http://www.redkeyeducation.com/index.cfm
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!
The WWF logo is not just a panda, but a skull as well.
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.
Really an interesting way of showing negative space in logo design. Some of them were really clever. Thanks for the post.
I’m surprised you didn’t include the Federal Express logo for its infamous arrow. Or would that have been to easy?
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.
White space !The article is about the use of white space. Everyone knows about FedEx now.
Love the Nexcite one, subtle but oh so “I-wish-I-thought-of-that” clever.
Really good collection!!
Thank you very much. I’ll try to improve my design now with this ideas.
Big thank you!
Wow, that was really good. I didn’t see the hand in myfonts till someone pointed it out in the comments.
Awesome list; I love surprise logo elements. Got some negative space on my logo.
I see E and W in the Freeman White logo..where’s the F?
Wow what a beautiful collection! Less is more!
Excellent collection sir, bookmarked for inspiration :-)
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 :)
Beautiful selection, here is a logo I designed with negative space in mind:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pmoffatt/3629722432/
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.
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.
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.
Amazing logo collection.
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
There is a hand in My Fonts, wow! Great list David :-)
The Carrefour logo was designed by French Graphic Designer Mr Christian Rime.
Thanks for the info, Jean-Baptiste.
Paul, very nicely done. I like your work.
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.
Hi
I love this style of logo! Here’s one I designed for our company…
http://www.if-fma.com
Vicki
Amazing collection, just inspirational.
In My Fonts logo, what is in negative space?
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.
great use of negative space. my favorite was the “eaton” logo. It inspires me for the logo design I am working on right now.
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.
Jordan, it’s the negative space that completes the panda. Look at the back-leg. A strange shape in isolation, but the negative space formed by the semi-border of the front-half fills the gap.
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
Here’s a couple of classics:
http://www.daveburdon.com/#208937/H-Electrics
http://www.daveburdon.com/#243720/Scottish-Emergency-Dental-Service
Isnt the ED logo actually made by Josiah of Siah Design? It was ED Electric???
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!
My favorites are the Sink It and Guild of Food Writer logos. Love the ED logo too.
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!
This is what I love the most about identity design, creating something from the “nothingness”
Ah the whalers logo is one of the best. I’m from hartford and I sure wish the whalers were still around
Excellent collection of logos using negative space. Difficult to choose my fave but I liking the yoga Australia one.
I believe the Carrefour logo was redesigned by Miles Newlyn:
http://www.newlyn.com/work/client/carrefour
what about thirty-twos logo? (the snowboard boot brand)
I never noticed the C in the Carrefour logo!! amazing!!
Thanks for that, Rianna. Much obliged.
Another good one is the DirecTV logo.
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
I like the WWF logo best.
Loved the Yoga Australia!!!
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
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! ;)
I would have to go with the Guild of Food Writers. Pure genius!
I’ve always thought negative space should positively be used.
Reminds me of the new Showcase (TV network) logo.
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).
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.
I always liked Surface Magazine’s logo:
http://www.blacksheepandprodigalsons.com/press/press_surface_jan07_1.jpg
I found this article very fascinating, and is an excellent showcase of creativity from around the world. Thanks David!
Oh, you should also check out the logo for TicketSoup.com, that’s a personal favourite.
http://www.ticketsoup.com
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!
Great collection of logos. I especially like the yoga one and the American Institute of Architects Center logo.
How about the Big Ten logo (hiding a “12” inside the letters for the number of teams).
The entire collection is very inspiring!
You should also check the Toblerone logo, well, the chocolate is my favorite.
My guess is the Recycle Taiwan logo was designed by the Third Reich..?
F1 logo is best!
The Blade and Premier Catering logos are positively brilliant!
Really great logo designs, all lovely and I really enjoyed yoga Australia, Thank you! LT
Great collection of logos. Really inspiring!
Nice collection. I’ve been a huge fan of the FedEx logo for years. ED and Egg n Spoon are a good ones as well. A little concerned about the appropriation of the UPS bow and cross string into the Knoll logo. Not sure of the story behind it ; )
http://www.easylivingsystems.com/ups_logo.gif
(quickest example I could find)
Overall, great inspiration!
Love the way the logos slowly speak their meaning the longer you stare at them.
I love working with negative space, tho I do not yet have a lot of experience it is nice to see a lot of pieces in one place as examples of how much can be done with it.
Check out this logo http://zsah.blox.pl/resource/cpn_logo_design_po_polsku_zsah.jpg of “CPN” — now non-existent Polish oil company.
The Do-It-Best hardware store line has a great logo! Check out the hammer:
http://www.graberpost.com/assets/image/Do%20It%20Best%20logo.jpg
That is some VERY clever use of negative space. Graphic designers are much more creative than I thought.
Try again:
Dammit!
http://c0573862.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/1/1/48932/581867/WaM_800.jpg
Google “pittsburgh zoo logo”… great use of negative space
Here’s another:
http://www.bigten.org/sports/m-footbl/big10-m-footbl-body.html
Its a poor execution, but a very smart idea. In football, when “The Big Ten” added another and became eleven, they revised the logo. “The Big Ten” is a more impactful name than “The Big Eleven”, so I love their solve!
Hey I think you should add the forumla 1 logo. It uses the space between the F and the next shape to create a 1. :)
This logo deserves a mention
http://www.topnews.in/sports/files/Formula_One_Logo_2.jpg
Holy crap the FedEx logo has a -> arrow in it. How long has that been there???
The Hartford logo is my favorite. That’s a hand on the MyFonts logo? That is the most hideous hand i have ever seen.
The conception logo is just underneath the name ‘cummings & good’. I couldn’t help thinking this could have also been a great logo for them. Perhaps the G for ‘Good’ could have been made from a sperm with a wonky tail?
You’ve got to love using negative space, it’s a shame it’s wasted on some clients.
Not very keen on the ‘My Fonts’ logo.
Negative space is brilliant, but it applies to branding on all levels. Black with just audio on a TV spot… silence in a radio commercial… it has applications beyond the visual.
Rock ‘n roll has some great examples of white space. The Beatles famous “White Album” is probably the most obvious example. Led Zeppelin released Zeppelin IV with no name or title on it, which is certainly a form of negative space. Likewise with Metallica’s “Black Album”.
Anything that intrigues because of what is lacking is, to me, negative space.
How about the G-Form logo? View it at their website http://www.g-form.com
I am always curious what letter people see first? I’d love to hear your comments.
My wife got me a hartford whalers logo t last christmas. its one of my favorite shirts and logos! thanks for including it on this list.
Great collection!! I love using Negative Space in Logo. I have actually design one myself, feel free to have a look: http://phat.com.au/portfolio/logo-design-melbourne/unique-ceramics/
WOW! Great use of negative space in logo design – never saw such a collection! I freaked out when I saw the hand in the my fonts logo – wow! Didn’t even see it until another commenter pointed it out. And the -> in Fedex has been there all this while? No way! The Guild of Food writers is Genius! And I didn’t get the Henri Eckhart logo @ first, bt then I went back and saw that the E was 3/4ths of a wine bottle! Amazing! The Yoga australia has the australian map in it, right? In between the lady’s leg and arm? Amazing stuff here, Dave. And Thanks for stopping by my site to give me some much needed advice. Working on it, definitely. Thanks a lot for this – I’m inspired! Working on a logo design presently, and this collection is inspiring! Thanks again.
Is it me – or does the Vandy logo look a bit…umm…phalic?
Another one I love that hasn’t been mentioned in the comments is the Cessna Aircraft Company logo:
http://www.cessna.com/
I love these kind of designs and im currently writing my dissertation about this kind of logo and whether or not having a ‘clever logo’ like these actually makes that particular company more memorable.
One of my particular favourites has got to be for The Pittsburgh Zoo
http://www.socialh.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/pittsburgh-zoo.jpg
These are fabulous. Myfonts seems a little less compelling, although cool in itself. Love the Malcolm Grear designs (one of my favorite designers). The ED electrical plug is wunderbar!
I am blown away by the Recycle Taiwan and FreemanWhite logos.
Gall & Gall (liquor store) is also a great example:
http://wijn.blog.nl/files/2011/10/GallGall1.jpg
I recently designed a logo similar to some of the these and found a bit of a problem when used on different backgrounds and had to add some white around the edges like the nbc logo has on coloured backrounds. It would be interesting to see these logo used on different colours in different contexts to see how they work.
What a great collection! Good to see the classics along with some newer more obscure logos. I can believe I JUST found this blog… bit late to get on the band wagon.
Here’s a logo I did using negative space, hope you like it…
http://www.graphicstillandmoving.com/franklinwolfe.php
Great selection of logos, David, thanks for compiling such a big source of inspiration. The Human logo is my personal favourite.
Your post just came to mind when I came across this great use of negative space, made me laugh out load but yet another great example: http://www.rajasandhu.com/images/logos/enlargel_logo2.jpg
Truly Inspirational. My favorite is the food writers logo.
Malcolm Grear is the most amazing designer of all time to master the art of negative space – form and counterform – in the mark-making arena.
Hands down.
Very inspirational, great resource to have on hand while designing!
Great selection! I especially love the food writers guild!
May I please offer up for consideration this wonderful logo Strawberry Frog designed for Changing the Present: http://www.changingthepresent.org/images/ig_logos/logo_site_ig_sf_v1.gif
Negative-space logos are just wonderful, and has great semantic value, because once you see that trick in logo, you never forget it :)
And I was very surprised to see MyFonts logo here, I was wondering and wondering what it has in it’s negative space … but once I found out it is a hand, I will never forget it.
—
@Robert: I like the concept of a present that was done with two arrows, also love the word-play, but the colour combination personaly I don’t think it’s suited. I would go less ‘CMYK’ and more natural, because there are ‘natural values’ that represents the idea of a changing present nowdays … if you know what I mean, I hope I didn’t complicate it too much :)
—
And as a reply, here is my logo in negative space (it has hidden S in a letter Ž – those letters are initials of my name and last name):
http://zetko.si/stran-v-prenovi.png
Regards,
Sebastian
Really love these. I have seen a couple before but my favourite out of this collection is Ogden Plumbing logo.
It still amazes me the number of people who don’t see the arrow in the FEDEX logo.
I wish I had thought of doing something like this for my own company.
I can’t design logos to save my life, but could spent hours a day looking at them. I think logos that involve negative space are the ones that wow me the most. Although it’s really simple, I love the USA logo – so much so I find myself very distracted by the logo in the bottom right corner of the screen when I’m watching the channel. Great list, never gets old!
University of Kentucky logo – UK with negative space image of the clock tower.
If you haven’t seen it yet, I think the Darkhorse Wine logo is pretty fantastic:
http://www.darkhorsewine.com/
One thing I believe that has not been mentioned about the Ford logo is that the “font” used is an adptation of Mr. Ford’s actual signature. Google “Henry Ford signature” and you’ll see what I mean.
Thank you for posting this amazing collection. I agree it’s hard to pick a favorite, but when I saw the Yoga Australia logo, I drew in a quick breath – its brilliance took me by surprise.
Another great example -the canterbury logo. A great use of negative space.
http://www.fm-base.co.uk/forum/attachments/football-manager-2014-manager-stories/477117d1390495876-liverpool-f-c-5-year-project-canterbury.jpg
5 years on and they still look brilliant. A great compilation of negative space logos. They’re all brilliant but Recycle Taiwan and Knoll are my favourties here!
Thanks for compiling, David!
These all are awesome logos. And for those who haven’t noticed hand in ‘MY FONTS’ , just notice ‘MY’ you can observe a hand.
WOW! This is an amazing collection David.
Great article. You have included some of the logos I didn’t and vice versa. I know your post a huge collection, but I focused rather on well known brands.
See my collection of negative space logos at:
http://www.ebaqdesign.com/blog/negative-space-logos/
Love these creative and inspiring logo designs, absolutely genius.
I really love these designs and your book is full of even more, are you not blogging much anymore David?
Thanks very much for picking up the book, Charlotte. Not been posting as much recently (kids play a big part in that).
Nice collection, David! I made a fun Instagram post a while back with little movies that put the images hidden in the negative space back into the original logos. Check them out here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CC3eYJPASCe/
The Martin Newcombe Property Maintenance negative space logo is so simple and so perfect.