Complete Guide: Feng Shui For Logo Design
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The design and creative industry can cover varying possible aspects in its creation. Sometimes, things related to religion, belief, and ancient art can create a huge ripple in its creation, meaning, and message. Thanks to its impact, the implementation of certain aspects can add a challenge to the creation. Feng shui is the prime example and elements you will find unique.
There are many instances in which the ancient art of feng shui plays a huge part in the design and creative industry. You can see it from architecture, home design, and orientation to the very significant logo. The art and its principle have a pretty apparent footprint, which later created a niche in logo design feng shui. What makes it unique and powerful?
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If you want to consider its huge impact, pay attention to how feng shui is an ancient art that has been around for thousands of years. Regardless of its several applications, businesses, in general, use the ancient Chinese traditional practice to create, develop, or attract better quality energy in the workplace. It later became part of the logo, company design, and many other elements.
Also known as Chinese geomancy, feng shui, in one way to another, can develop certain aspects that affect the creation and implication of the logo itself. Many will come with the idea that the practice mostly falls into certain traditional beliefs. But the principle has its unique application and effect on the logo design feng shui.
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When Feng Shui And Design Overlap
The application of feng shui in design is not a novel practice. The biggest instances are the uses of the principle in interior and house design. When the principle is applied in the process, it can create balance and positive energy. It goes with the fact that feng shui has a strong connection with many design elements, such as color, composition, spaces, and energy.
It subconsciously promotes certain energy in the audience, which also develops a sense of beauty, harmony, and style. In the more modern design application, you can find UX design also adopt the traditional technique. Feng shui helps the UX design appear less cluttered, has more balance in its appearance, and focuses on its functionality.
Similar to the two design instances, feng shui can also improve logo design creation. The logo has many elements, which create meaning, imply ideas, and demand balancing. The old Chinese principle acts as a guideline in developing a more effective symbol or visual impact. It can help pick the proper color, image, fonts, and proportion.
Considering the visual identity also has a connection to the business, logo design feng shui is also believed to create a certain impact on the company itself. In other words, feng shui not only creates visual attraction but also develops a certain meaning or effect on the company. Which is the reason many designers start to work with feng shui when developing logos.
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10 Tips On Using Feng Shui For Logo Design
1. Learn More About Feng Shui Basic
Talking and adopting certain art in a design comes with the importance of learning and understanding the term itself. With Feng Shui being an old tradition and design principle, creators should learn about it further before fully applying it to the logo project. All because the idea behind the principle itself is pretty complex.
Long short story, the feng shui is a concept that was founded on Taoist belief with the central focus on yin and yang theory. From the principle come out five fundamental concepts that become the center of the ideation itself. That is why working with the principle also leads to working and understanding the concept of Yin and Yang.
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In general, Yin Yang is visualized as the black and white of a certain shape (circle). You can see that it is pretty common in Chinese philosophy and design to resemble the sense of opposite complementary forces. The two forces are considered dualities, which are also interconnected and interdependent.
The said duality in Yin yang and feng shui is also found in many other belief systems. The main differentiation is the equal parts of oneness, which is later known as Tao in Feng shui. When talking about logo design, feng shui has a connection to balance and interconnection of every element.
The elements on the logo that have the yin and yang inspiration include the shapes, color, direction, image, and text. In theory, the yin-yang of feng shui can include many other aspects of life or the design industry. That is why in logo creation, the Chinese principle later has the role of manifesting certain energies by combining or visualizing the proper elements.
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2. Understand The 3 Feng Shui Approaches
The ancient Chinese principle can be adopted to design or create projects in three different approaches. The approaches will pinpoint diverse design commandments and how the feng shui will affect the logo design. At the same time, the approaches also explain how the designer is supposed to adhere to or implement the principle in the company logo project.
Bazi approach
In the Bazi approach, the process of adapting the Feng shui to the logo design started with identifying the self-elements of the business owner. In other words, a proper background study about the company will decide the favorable elements of the design. It will later aid the owner's fortune through the company's success.
The key is that the owner's elements will be part of the logo design feng shui. With this idea, the personal message by the owner can be visualized with the five elements tagged on the design. It also aids the logo to appear more personal, has a self-element, or has a unique touch on the visual identity.
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Element approach
Elemental approaches focus on how the elements work, including avoiding clashes and conflict. In this approach, the consideration of logo design style can go beyond more than just appealing appearance. The key is to identify which type of colors, forms, shapes, or any other elements have a positive nature to the project.
The prime example is a hair salon with its water elements. The water element has better compatibility with metal and wood elements. Thus, colors such as blue, green, or wood are the best elemental compatibility. It is similar to circles, waves, or rectangle shapes. The designer needs to avoid something related to fire and earth feng shui elements as much as possible.
Mixed approach
Mixed or combination elements are another approach for logo design feng shui. The combination is considered sheer luck since it needs a proper plan to get both elemental and Bazi aligned. If designers want to use the principle and combination, it likely needs very proactive planning. In this case, it is best to check out the table of feng shui for references.
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3. Five Elements Of Feng Shui In Logo
Five different elements in feng shui are earth, water, metal, fire, and wood. Each element refers to natural characteristics and their interconnection with each other. It is also best to say that each of the elemental models has its unique relationship with each other, which explains why there are good and bad pairs of them in logos or design in general.
In design, the elemental point of the principle can be translated into a certain color, shape, or industry. That is why designers need to learn further about how the elements affect or create meaning. The earth is a common element in the agriculture or construction industry. It also has a strong impression on it.
Water is the element you can find in the beauty and health industry, which is also associated with color creating a sense of purity, relaxation, and cleanliness. Metal is the element of technology and money. Fire is the element that symbolizes energy, action, and food. And lastly is wood, an elemental epitome of clothing, paper, and education.
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4. Color Meanings Based On The Feng Shui
As the elements of the principle generate and are used in certain businesses or industries, they also have a connection to color. Learning about the connection is vital to develop logo design feng shui. It is similar to the common idea that color can develop, evoke emotion, or bring meaning to its audiences. The logo color should be thought carefully.
When talking about color, some designs and logos can either clash or be compatible with their meaning or message. That is why designers have to consider a different approach when the idea is not fitting. In many cases, changing from self-elemental to industry-based color feng shui happens when the company is owned by multiple individuals.
In the case of feng shui color for logo design, the consideration goes back to wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. From that, it is easier to see which one will fit the elements. Green and brown are for wood. Orange and yellow are the colors of the earth. Red and purpose are the fire models. The water is blue and black. And the metal elements are white and gold.
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5. Directions And Measurement
Along with color and shape, there is also the direction and measurement for every feature in logo design feng shui. Most of the time, consideration is used as the final step to identify the optimal direction for the design or the logo placement. In this case, designers use Bagua or Pakua to analyze the energy of space.
To make it simple, the direction in feng shui has a connection between elements and their position. Wood is for east, south, and southeast. Water is an element fitting for the north, southeast, and east. Metal will be used for north, west, and northwest. Fires are best fitted for the south, center, and southwest. Logos with earth elements fit for west, northeast, northwest, and southwest.
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6. Shapes And Elements To Make In Logo
Similar to color are shapes in feng shui. A logo design will always need to use shapes in it, which is part of the visual identity. However, since every shape has a certain relation with colors, creators need to pay attention to how the logo features will create a reaction to many others. Again, the concept of the elemental and feng shui became the most important aspect of the creation.
In this case, shapes in feng shui represent nature. So it is best to highlight that triangle is fire, the rectangle is wood, the wavy is water, the square is earth, and the round is metal. With shapes in the plan, the next thing to do is to ensure every principle, and feng shui idea works the best or harmoniously. That is why there is a diagram that explains the connection and relation for each element.
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7. Logo Fonts And Implication Of Feng Shui
While there is no exact measure for font on the ancient principle, designers can consider the typeface to fit the logo design feng shui elements. Fonts can appear or look square, wavey, or roundish. Not only the shapes, pay attention to the color too. The key is to ensure it fits with the elemental factor, as well as work with the company's values, mission, and objective.
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8. Images And Symbols For Logo
Images and symbols mostly turn into the main feature of the logo. That is where the designer needs to properly pick imagery that encapsulates the business images visually. The picture should create real meaning or develop a similar idea of the business at a glance. That is why directive visuals are preferred in logo design, such as an image of a dog for a veterinarian.
In the case of logo design feng shui, the use of imagery and symbols has a relation to appropriate energy. Take an example of a Nike swoosh image that highlights simple, memorable, and effective imagery. It exudes positive feng shui energy as the auspicious image has a sense of movement and uplifting mood.
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9. Negative Association In Fengshui
Many logo designs try to be smart and cheeky in their styling, but they fail both the feng shui and general favor. The idea comes with the common simplistic and minimalist styling as the most favorable logo model or tips. Doing too much or trying too hard to capture every element will lessen its optimized use.
Many other features can affect the logo design's feng shui effects, including the negative association. It highlights a mismatching elements theory, negative symbols, and a poison arrow-hitting. An arrow pointing to the logo or a sharp object can cause serious damage to the business operation.
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10. Favicon's Level Scale
The favicon scale is a trick or tip in working from the small scale and going up. The idea highlights the ability to succeed in creating versatile and scalable work. This method helps you learn how to make a successful small image without losing its feng shui features. As you work with smaller items, going into a bigger scale will be easier and more scalable.
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Final Words
In general, the application of feng shui in logo design can be considered an additional spice for a perfectly planned visual. The ancient practice envelops almost every aspect of the design and its elements themselves, creating the balance of yin yang, imagery, beauty, and properly aligned company's visual identity.
Since the principle has a pretty thick meaning and implication, the best way to fully embrace the logo design feng shui is to learn further about the art itself. The creator or designer needs to understand the basics of elements, shapes, color, images, direction, and also writing. Each element has its particular aspects that can affect the creation in general.
The key to creating successful work based on feng shui is to work and consider many elements' implications or associations. Each meaning can lead the process and make a logo that properly states its message. That is why several applications in the business will need a lot of consideration elements in their process.
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In color, feng shui has a stronger effect on how the hues have great power in the design. It is something that also relates to how the color evokes emotion, action, and impact on the business or the audience. Shape in this art has the role of symbolizing specific natural elements, such as fire, wood, water, metal, and earth. Each has balance and creates an impact on the other.
Those elements are also fundamental ideas on how feng shui works in certain projects. Logo and business eventually have or resemble certain elements, which later affect the decision in picking certain imagery, symbol, or font and its writing. Other than that, logo design feng shui will also need a good sense of graphics and versatility. Thus go back to the creator's ability and experience.
At the end of the feng shui, creating a logo could emphasize or portray a certain message. Aside from its traditional beliefs, working with the principle is known to help improve the balance and design composition. In general, it is not a bad practice. But surely not for everyone. But if you are fine with extra knowledge of ancient rules, try it. It can be great exercise.