We have all, at one time or another, come across an optical illusion that leaves us
to ponder and imagine whether this impossibility is in fact possible.
When I see these worked in to an identity, I know that
they are banking on the consumer pausing to participate by investigating the logo.
It will make you stop.
But, what is the reason for incorporating such a gimmick?
Very simply, it speaks to your client's ability to achieve the impossible.
Or, at least, the improbable.
If your client is thoughtful and inquisitive, this type
of logo will signal that no task is beyond them.
If others have thrown their hands up in resignation, your client takes
that as a challenge to develop a solution that others could not imagine.
These two are optical illusions.
But they are much less blatant about it and often kind
of creep up on the consumer when they are least expecting it.
I refer to these as flip flops, because a consumer may be mid-gaze when suddenly,
the entire image appears to invert, and the shift of perspective can be startling.
In this logo for North Construction, are you looking
at a set of stairs rising up from the
right to the left or are you peering down
at the underside of some stairs moving left to right?
The shift usually happens on these, when you imagine looking up into
the mark and then adjust so that you're looking down on to it.
A client that's open minded and able to objectively consider both
perspectives may be the ideal candidate for this type of mark.
Like the marks that we just discussed, these too have
the ability to flip flop, but for a different reason.
All of these logs were created using a linear
method that generally describes the edges of the form.
As there are no surfaces to obstruct the view, it's much more
likely the consumer will pick up on the shifting nature of these immediately.
Because these play with spatial dimension, they're often found associated
with clients in the fields of architecture or engineering in construction.
Since the logos are crafted out of line,
they give the appearance of technical diagrams which will
remind consumers of objective clients that rely on math
and science, at the core of their business model.
Lastly, because these have an open void to them, the
consumer may assume the client process is open and transparent.
If this is the case, it's a great trait to share, since it
allows customers to be at ease with the procedure that could be beyond them.