- [Instructor] I'd like to believe the difference
between a dot and a dash could really be
the angle from which it's being viewed.
And when you start to throw
a little perspective into the mix,
staring down the barrel of a rod from just off center
gives us a shaft that diminishes in width
and rounds off at either end.
Take that same group of rods and start to splay them
into an orderly array
and you have all the makings of this trend set.
Give the vanishing point a minor twist
and the same logo like for IFS evokes
the rotation of a gradually winding vortex.
It's easy to make the jump to this set being
a derivative of the auras and halos
so often employed over the last few years.
But these are more about the shafts themselves
than about providing a nimbus
or to circumscribe a central feature.
Look at how the rounding on the ends on these
keep them friendly and approachable,
and truly it's their distinguishing feature.
From this display, you'll note that the effect
is equally impressive using a single tone,
or when gradients are used to define the shape and distance.
These marks nearly always project from a vacuous center,
torched clean by a burst of light
and convey a sense of expansion, hope, and outreach.
It's all about the management of the action
and less about what caused it.
And what happens here.
A group of dots leaving crimson contrails
as they torque into liftoff
or just another series of fading rods.
All of these trends in the objects chapter are here
because of recent zealous infatuation with their shapes.
And as we've pointed out,
asterisks, rings, and rods all rose to the top
because they were endowed with preconceived connotations
that have proven valuable in telling a brand story,
and there are thousands of great stories to be told.
Your challenge as a smart branding agent is to learn
the myriad of building blocks available to you
and their preordained meanings.
Only then can you wisely build a strong solution
that is rich because you embellish those undertones
with a second set of symbolism.
The secret to a smart logo, the overtones.