Is there a way to create a grid for an already designed logo?

[robja3]

I know this seems like a silly question, but I'm new to graphic design and I've designed a logo for a project without using a grid. Is there any simple way to create a grid for a logo that wasn't designed with one? Any suggestions would be much appreciated! 

[pixxxelschubser]

What kind of grid?

Circular or rectangular, or hexagonal or, or, or...

Can you please show us the logo?

[robja3]

Sorry I'm so new to this, thanks for the quick response! It would be a rectangular grid. There are different versions of the logo but here is a screenshot of two. The artboards are fitted to the logos but I know in the grid I need to leave some free space around them. 

[pixxxelschubser]

Looking for the place to turn on the document grid?
Or do you want to draw a real grid (and maybe convert it to guides)?

[robja3]

I was hoping to draw a real grid to show dimensions and consistency of the logo. I know how to draw a grid with the rectangular grid tool, but I wasn't sure if there was a way to make a grid that fits an already designed logo (which wasn't created with grid). I've already made the logo but later realized that I was supposed to make it with a grid for the project. I'm not sure if it makes sense to use circles and rectangles in this case? (I've included some photos below) Hope I'm making sense, thanks for your help! 

[pixxxelschubser]

If I understand you correctly - you might mean something like this (for example):

https://www.lesptitesaffairesdemayl.be/articles/graphics/whats-a-logo-grid-and-why-should-you-use-on...

or

https://medium.com/@radenyunos/how-to-use-geometric-shapes-to-design-logos-db7d045ae3f0

[robja3]

Yes, more so the second link/example. The only thing is that I don't know if I can do that if I already created the logo. It's more to have something in my project to explain and justify the design. Maybe this would be a better bet than just using a rectangular grid? 

[robja3]

Here is something I did quickly just to give an idea. Would this look acceptable in my project to justify the design of the logo or would it be better to stick to a regular grid? Thanks!

[Monika Gause]

There's no need to "justify" the construction of your logo.

Concentrate on justifying why you think that this design fits the branding concept of the organisation. That's indeed important. But how you built it shouldn't be anyone's business. People who know how to use Illustrator know it anyway. Everyone else doesn't understand it anyway.

I know that there are prominent examples of doing this. In most cases I would assume that someone slapped a grid on the design afterwards, because the grid makes no sense whatsoever (all these circles on the Twitter bird - that's bizarre).

[pixxxelschubser]

Haha,

full ack @Monika Gause 

[Monika Gause]

There are some ridiculous memes about that:

https://twitter.com/Joshua_Ariza/status/1103007477602242561/photo/1

[robja3]

Haha I totally get it, the only thing is that it's for a school project and we were supposed to use a grid. So I thought maybe I could get by with using the circles and lines 

[Monika Gause]

Obviously you can't use anything other than circles and lines, because that's how the logo has been built.

I already suspected that some school is involved in this. When designing a logo you can either satisfy your client and build something that makes sense for their situation and concept. Or satisfy your peers and build something that has a sophisticated grid built into it (bonus points if a Golden Something can be found in it as well). Only rarely you can satisfy both.

[Anna Lander]

the only use of all these grids is to show the client and all his contractors the allowed sizes and proportions. And yes, it can help them to keep consistence. So in explication I would choose the characteristic element (e. g. circle) and use its size to highlight the sizes/distances/proportions/protection zone. 
And yes, as you used lines and circles, you can show them as a "sceleton" (grid) of the logo.

[Kwaku Amprako]

Hey, @robja3  not a silly question at all, it’s actually a really common one.

Yes, you can create a grid for a logo that’s already designed. There’s actually a specific type of grid made for this — it’s called a construction grid.

A construction grid is used after the logo is finished. It reveals the structure behind your design — things like anchor points, bezier handles, outlines, and alignment lines. It’s super useful for refining your work and showing the thinking behind it, especially in client presentations or your portfolio.

Here are two ways to create a construction grid for an existing logo:

Method 1: Manually

In Adobe Illustrator, you can use the Selection Tool to isolate parts of your logo, then recreate the construction — like outlines, anchors, and gridlines. Press Cmd+Y to view in outline mode and start building from there.

Heads up though, this can take 30–60+ minutes depending on the logo. I actually ran a survey with over 100 logo designers — that timing holds up.

Method 2: Automatically

I created a tool called Logo Grid Generator that does this instantly. It builds a full construction grid for your logo in just one click. I’m not trying to pitch you — just sharing it because it genuinely saves a ton of time.

Hope that helps!

– Kwaku Amprako

[Bobby Henderson]

Since this interesting old thread was bumped I'll add my 2¢. In some respects it does make sense to have a logo fit neatly into some sort of grid to communicate to others that the design wasn't just thrown together in some kind of slap-dash fashion. It would show deliberate thought into how the logo was constructed.

But! Be careful about making the parts of a logo design fit absolutely to a grid. It's possible to arrive at an end result that looks dull or even a bit odd. Various optical illusions can occur in designs. The parts may be perfectly sized in terms of math, yet the parts can end up not looking right. Type designers battle these problems when designing letters and other glyphs, which is why you'll find some letter strokes are thicker than others and why parts of letters will overshoot the baseline and cap height line.