By Jordan Lock
Green Square Cairns is not only the home of the Cairns CQU campus, but also houses a variety of businesses, big or small. Two of those businesses are ‘Shop 3’ café and ‘Natural Therapy Centre’. Every functioning business needs a logo as a recognizable icon.
The Shop 3 logo is an example of mediocrity, despite it’s relatively appealing design. The positives of the design are its simplicity which allows it to be non-obstructive and delivers the relevant information, the recognizable iconography of the 3 in the logo which resembles the foam patterns on coffee, and its decent use of green coloring which general represents calmness and nature, which is very likely the emotion the owners are aiming for, and also ties it in with the Green Square. However, a big gripe I have with the logo stems from it’s uses of color, imaging and typography. For one, despite the use of color decently portraying the emotions that the business wants to attach itself with, the lack of a unique shade of green very likely is more closely associated with artificiality, as the shade doesn’t resemble natural hues. The imaging of the three as coffee foam is a clever choice, however the lack of any other signifying elements may lead to viewers to just believe it is simply a uniquely designed 3. Finally, the use of typography is uninspired at best, not particularly clear or unique.
The ‘Natural Therapy Centre’ is a great example of coloring, simplicity and iconography, featuring first and foremost the use of coloring in the logo with light earthy greens and browns, creating a sense of both naturistic and calming energy, which is perfect for massage and care center with an emphasis on natural therapy. The icon featured on the sign perfectly fits, displaying three hands, in the same coloring of the text, replicating an image of a tree or fern, further connecting the business with nature. Finally, a simplistic typograph for the title which displays the name clearly but also the entire lowercase logo displaying a relaxed feeling.
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