Anyone who has ever tried to illustrate with markers recalls that uncontrollable moment at the end of a stroke. Before you can lift the pen or if you’re indecisive and pause, the marker tip suddenly becomes generous and bleeds out a pool of ink you could drown in. I know that’s not the way a computer operates, but it sure helps me picture the visual appearance of this trend. Imagine that pen tip as a perfect circle that leaves an unvarying marker trail behind it and then parks the full circle at the end of the stroke like a street that unexpectedly ends in a cul-de-sac.
Whether these logos have faded and gradient trails behind the circle or they are clear and unvarying, they send a similar message. The circle is the messenger, and, until seconds ago, this mark did not exist. An action set the spots in motion and they have vividly burrowed across this field with precision accuracy to spell out a letter or highlight a path or trace out a symbol of significance. You have caught them in action and they may be done, or they may just be waiting for you to avert you eyes so they can repeat or carry on. They are dynamic, vivid, and fresh, and charged with potential.