From a circle grid to finished visual, a simple set-up for an interlocking design icon.

The fascination of interlocking design

A trend to watch and follow

Interlocking design has made its way into our creative consciousness as an element-based concept. In an interlocking design, elements no longer stand on their own, but are fused together through the blending of positive/negative spaces.

Designers use this interlocking principle in typography, icon and logo design, pattern recognition, and structural compositions. Architects use it to build spaces that connect to each other organically, inside and outside of a building environment.

What exactly is interlocking design?

In essence, interlocking design is a repetitive modular grid structure based on one defined element, such as a circle or square, pentagon, star, or even organic shape. This shape is then used to combine with itself multiple times.

Seemingly organic shapes emerge by fusing with the negative spaces in between the base elements. The modularity of the grid remains intact, in fact, it emphasizes the foundation of the interlocking shapes.

To the left, a simple 4x3 circle base grid, highlighting the in-between spaces which will be used when combining the shapes. To the right, a filled in variation of black circle with in-between negative spaces fusing the shapes together.

Interlocking design builds structural modules by…