Working with the Google AI team, we were tasked to create a brand Identity for their sub-product Quantum. Still being part of the Google landscape, there were many guidelines already in place that we had to abide by but still had some room for exploration.
Quantum is a research effort from Google AI that is advancing quantum computing by providing hardware and software for researchers and developers.
TL;DR
I help create the logo + guidelines for Google Quantum.
My Role
Visual Designer
Evolution of a mark
Theres some logic to our madness. This mark is based on a combination of the idea of qubits and an evolution of the original logo. By combining the nature of the qubit, an impossible drawing, and the original qubit logo, we’ve developed a blend of all these objects to create an interesting shaped mark that represents the qubit and superposition.
Mark Breakdown
The structure of the mark lives inside the Google AI framework with the angles of its shape and colors.
1. Grid: Angles of the shape fit within the hexagon shape of the Google AI logo and grid.
2. Color: Two main Google colors and a darker shade.
3. Concept: Negative space of the “0” shape creates a “1”
4. Impossible Path: The shape creates an optical illusion
Explorations
As you can probably assume, there were a lot of explorations. We played around with concepts, colors, shapes and styles. Here is a small preview to all the fun I had.
The “1” that is represented in the negative space of the Qubit mark is based on the grid and angles that are available to us within the mark. We explored variations on these angles and feel what we have on the left is what works best in legibility and concept, big and small.
Guidelines
The style guide references Google’s overarching style. Our designs will be following suite with their main primary colors and the typeface will be the expected Google Sans — nothing diverges here.
Spacing
Use the width of the nodes in the logomark (the two end node columns) to determine the minimum amount of clear space that should surround the Google AI logo.
To ensure the word Google AI is always legible, the logo should never appear smaller than the following minimum sizes:
Usage
We documented a lot of cases where you should avoid using the logo or reframe from manipulating it in any shape or form. Too many to jot down here actually but this is a preview to determining which lockup to use, by following the guidelines below:
• Always use the horizontal color logo when possible.
• A color icon with reverse wordmark is used on black backgrounds.
• A reverse logo is used on images and dark or patterned backgrounds with high contrast.
Google AI Quantum in the wild
I love seeing the brand evolve as Google uses it’s logo for various purposes. You can check out some on the links below:
Twitter @GoogleQuantumAI
Youtube @GoogleQuantumAI
Google: https://quantumai.google/
