Why Xiaomi’s new logo design is not just a simple change of corners.
By: Ramzi Salem
Tags: Xiaomi, UX, Web Design, Logo Design, UI

Why Xiaomi’s new logo design is not just a simple change of corners.

It might look like it’s just a simple change of corners but after you read this article you will find out it’s really not at all simple! Ramzi Salem Apr 2·5 min read

A photo was taken during Xiaomi conference on 29 March 2021

Xiaomi in its last conference on 29 March 2021, announced a change in their logo, the 20 minutes presentation explaining a (simple) change according to the description of the blogs and pages interested in technology, and a wave of ridicule began about the change that happened in the logo, so away from the superficial interpretation through which the pages criticize. I will try here to explain from my point of view how this tiny change is going to impact the brand and everything related to it.

Purpose of the logo change:

Before going deeper, let me show you as many sentences of the company’s words and the words of the designer (Kenya Hara) — who worked on this project — what I see that if we understand it well, we will know the purpose of this (simple) change:

“Compared to the right-angled shape, the circle is a lighter and graceful shape, which fully reflects Xiaomi’s flexibility and desire to move forward.”

— Xiaomi “The designer used the mathematical equation of the shape (super oval) for the design, and he was forced to adjust the variables to reach the best dynamic balance on the visual level between the circle and the square.”

— Xiaomi “The design is fundamentally a reflection of (vitality and activity)”

— Kenya Hara “This is not only a change in shape from square to round, but rather a change in the spirit and mentality of the brand.”

— Xiaomi

Visual Identity in general:

So from the above Xiaomi explained the change, I won’t talk about the technical side of Xiaomi as an electronics company, but I will explain from the brand identity perspective, then we will see the words of the company From this angle:



Visual identity is part of the brand identity, the logo is the pivotal part of the visual identity, and the logo is a visual design that has different shapes and methods, but the common among them is that they all reflect the largest philosophy or largest message possible in the least space and the fewest elements, colors, and movements.

The effect of this (simple) change:

So any A (simple) change in the logo, will have an impact on all the visual identity from the first shape of the packaging in which the product is located to the shape of the chair that you will sit on when you enter a branch of this company, even some of the values ​​and impressions that the brand wants to cultivate in The public mind, so this will affect the brand identity as a whole.

This would explain to you how a simple change, such as increasing the curvature of the edges of the square, will change the shape of every need for the company’s style, which may simulate the shape of the design of the new phones that Xiaomi will manufacture, and it could be also because the company wants to follow the latest design trends to have rounded corners, not sharp corners, that gives you a feeling of comfortability but let’s take a look on the reasons behind Xiaomi’s decision of this change:

Xiaomi’s philosophy:

In the research of the fields of visual arts, you talk about “the psychological impact of shapes” and “the philosophy of shapes.” Without going into many details, in short, we will now say:

Circular shapes have a softness and affection that conveys a positive feeling that has a sense of welcome more than shapes that have explicit angles such as triangles and squares, circles are consistent and solid, without fractures, which proves a feeling of trust and belonging, and there is some flexibility that confirms the concepts of continuity, development and activity.

— Xiaomi

So this explains why the company says at the conference that this change includes a change in the spirit of the company, its plans, and its identity, not just its visual shape, and they explain why this is important and influential.

Squircle?

The shape of the new logo is called Squircle, and it is between the square and the circle. The amount of arcs that form the shape is calculated by the equation of any geometric shape.

It could be too self-evident, but you can clearly see how the designer is interested in the details, it’s not a work that has been done randomly, and considering the designer and his words as part of the company’s identity, I think this way will help confirm the idea that Xiaomi does not take any step arbitrarily and without reason, and measure that accordingly lots of promotional messages including accuracy, craftsmanship, high quality and so on.

Why Squircle?

The human eye is comfortable with geometric shapes when they are more imitations of nature, because this what you are used to seeing without paying attention to, and nature, is the best source from which to draw inspiration from proportions, dimensions, and colors because it is made by God, so two shapes can have the same name but with a slight difference In terms of the curvature or angle of the rotation you feel more comfortable, and there is a lot of theories, the most famous of them being the golden ratio.

This makes their choice of this proposal a logical definition — from among the many proposals that might seem the same for you — the pictures below show the different proposals.