Feng Shui in Business Logo Design

The art and science of Feng Shui may be thousands of years old. But, that doesn’t mean we can’t apply it to even the most modern of concepts like logo design.

Of course, proper Chi or Feng Shui energy flow in an office is ideal. But, you also need to complement Chi flow with Feng Shui applied to other areas of the business, such as basic marketing concepts.

I am currently working with a company to help them choose a new logo design to represent their business. As such, I have recently paid a lot of attention to how logos represent businesses in terms of Feng Shui.

Navigating Through Water

I just saw one such logo this past weekend at the grand opening of King Harbor Brewing Co. in Redondo Beach, CA.

Much like people, businesses are born with dominant Feng Shui elements (earth, wind, water, fire or wood). In the case of a brewing company, it might not surprise you that the element is water.

Unfortunately, too much of one element can be overwhelming to the owners and employees of a business. By applying Feng Shui to our logos, we look to complement or channel the dominant element for our benefit.

In the case of King Harbor, they rightly decided to navigate through their dominant water element with a sturdy ship with visible anchors.

The Five Elements
The first thing you must do is determine your business’s Feng Shui element. Some of them are rather easy to determine, while others may require the help of an expert. Here are a few examples:

The five elements of water, wood, fire, earth and metal in their creative cycle.

• Wood: Anything devoted to education, clothing or paper
• Fire: Anything where creativity, athleticism or food is required
• Metal: Anything centered around money (banks/accounting) or technology
• Water: Anything regarding beauty or cleanliness
• Earth: Anything that has to do with construction, agriculture, or moving/building in the earth

Now that we know the primary Feng Shui element of our business, it’s time to move on with design elements.

Logos and other marketing design principles require special attention to color, shape, images, symbols and other elements.

Stimulate With Color
Color is probably one of the most important aspects to choosing a logo. Color can be used to stimulate a variety of human emotions, such as calming, hunger, excitement, etc.

It is important to choose colors that will create emotions that are congruent with your product or service and/or support your business.

The use of blue would be a more soothing element to use than red, for instance, when choosing colors for a massage therapy business.

Moreover, a garden center may want to use green or brown, as representative of wood and earth, than red. This is because red is the color of fire, which is destructive to wood.

Choose the Right Shapes
Shapes and imagery are just as important as colors in your logo. Various shapes occur naturally in nature and represent the five elements. For example:

• Rectangular = Wood
• Triangular = Fire
• Round = Metal
• Wavy = Water
• Square = Earth

When talking shapes, a BBQ restaurant would be better-served with a triangular design in their logo representing fire than a wavy design representing water.

A square would only muddy the waters in a cleaning business, which is probably why Swisher Hygiene chose an S in the form of flowing water. The use of fiery red around their S may even help with the disinfecting process!

Final Thoughts
One design element that I frequently see in logos that is contrary to Feng Shui is a line or arc running through the graphic or company name.  Just don’t do it.  It splits your business.

Whenever possible, use imagery that is empowering, healthy and safe.  Whatever colors and design elements you choose, make sure they are harmonious for your business, customers and employees.  Whatever your logo represents will probably be represented in your business.

So, all ahead full, my beer-brewing friends!

Next Steps
Spend some time learning about the Feng Shui Bagua to learn more about each of the various design points and be creative in using them in your logo.

If you need a little expertise for your business, contact me right now.

Does your business feel stagnant?  Inquire about a Feng Shui Space Clearing or an Office Feng Shui Consultation now because you need your business to be profitable! 

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