Going against every rule of smart identity design, this works. We’ve been admonished time and again that too fine of a line will not scale down well. Allowing line work to run together will create a printing nightmare. And don’t go for a swim for a half-hour after you’ve eaten. I’m here to say this trend dispels at least two-thirds of those warnings.
Banking on the public’s familiarity with wireframe design may be the influence behind these logos. With the advances in 3D modeling and printers, or “additive manufacturing” as the industry prefers, consumers are becoming conversant with the linear mesh geometry that defines an item to be printed. It is the shorthand vector language that defines even the most curvaceous of items, whether it’s to be fabricated or animated. The unexpected nuance of this trend is the linear surface for all intents serves as a halftone effect or a printing screen. Where lines come together, the color becomes more intense. As lines compound at an angle or in a curve, it darkens in shadow. One of the upsides to this genre is it conveys a technical essence and demonstrates precision of process. The open grid work also allows for the mark to tie to the field and integrates the marks to the page or the screen. Scale can definitely fight these marks, but managed properly, it may be worth breaking a rule or two.
 ARMA GRAPHICO, AURORA COOPERATIVE |
 PAUL HOWELL:DESIGN, CHIMERA SCREEMS |
 DENNARD, LACEY & ASSOCIATES, INTERFACE TEKNOLOGIES |
 TERRILOWRY.COM, CLAD, INC. |
