In mid-January, on the generous recommendation of fellow design chronicler Alissa Walker, UnderConsideration was invited by Studio 360 — the beloved Public Radio International show hosted by Kurt Andersen — to tackle a rather interesting problem: Redesigning Valentine’s Day, everything from the hearts, to the roses, to the chocolates, to the expensive dinners, to Cupid. Everything we know about Valentine’s was due for a new approach. Now you might think, who would want to come up with this challenge in the first place? Well, Studio 360 has posed similar challenges in the past: Pentagram was asked to redesign Christmas in 2006 (in which I participated while employed there) and Worldstudio to redesign the gay flag in 2009. Of course, we said yes. Yes, to a project that we had to finish in less than two weeks, with no pay, and without any precedents to refer to. Regardless, we decided to approach it just as we would any identity or branding project. The results of this endeavor, along with the process that got us there, are shown below, and at Studio 360 you can listen to the presentation with our “client,” Mr. Andersen.
After designing the logo for the 2009 edition of TypeCon back in April of 2009, the final weeks leading up to the conference on July 14 were a test to the logo and the ideas we had previously established now that it faced real applications. Working with the conference’s organizers UnderConsideration developed a wide range of communication materials for TypeCon 2009: Rhythm.
With offices in Boston, Hartford, Los Angeles, New York, Phoenix and San Diego and expertise in civic, corporate, education, hospitality and science & technology markets, JCJ Architecture is a highly prolific firm that designs and builds at the local, regional and global level. UnderConsideration was brought in to revitalize their identity in a way that marked an evolution from their 2006 name change and identity.
As past speakers, attendees and all-around enthusiasts of TypeCon, the annual conference organized by the Society of Typographic Aficionados, UnderConsideration was particularly enthusiastic about designing the identity for its 2009 conference in Atlanta, GA taking place July 14 – 19. The theme: Rhythm.
Because we had a great set of characters to work with — F, P, O as in FPO: For Print Only — we decided to render each of them as the size of a perfect square, so even if the type looks as if it came out of the box, it didn’t. The wordmark has an inline that can change color, which is something we do every two or three weeks on the website, where we also use the logo rather big giving us the opportunity to gently place the description of the acronym within the O. The text “For Print Only” is typeset in House Industries’ Paperback.
The logo or, in this case, the wordmark for the Word It blog is unapologetically big and bold yet, understanding of its context, very simple, allowing the hundreds of submissions to be the center of attention. Set very tightly together, the Word It wordmark uses House Industries’ Neutraface No. 2, Titling style. The wordmark’s generous heft, allows us to use it translucently in some vivacious Word It quilts.
To support the logo for VisionSpring we created a simple identity system that could be applied and extended to various business and communication materials.
The famed brand name of Caesars casino in Las Vegas has been ushered into the burgeoning leisure and entertainment scene of Macau, China with the introduction of Caesars Golf Macau — one of seven golf courses around the world run by its parent company, Harrah’s Entertainment. UnderConsideration created a logo that signals the link between Caesars’ hospitality and entertainment experience and the promise of a grand golfing experience. We also created a limited business suite application establishing the use of black, red and silver.
VisionSpring, formerly known as Scojo Foundation, is a “nonprofit social enterprise that reduces poverty and generates economic opportunities through the sale of affordable glasses in impoverished regions throughout Asia, Latin America and Africa.“ UnderConsideration had the exciting opportunity to help the organization redesign their identity.
It was unavoidable to attempt to find a visual representation of “opposite” with the logo for Opposites Attract ’08. After a few failed designs, we turned to Aleya Hoerlein, our winter, off-site intern who came up with the concept of using the O and A as circle and triangle, representing basic opposite geometric shapes — some might argue it’s the square that is the opposite of a circle. From that spark, we developed a modestly flexible identity — alternate configurations and an OA08 “badge” — with the typography reinforcing the “opposite” effect.
The logo for Quipsologies, our linkfest of creative bits, uses a custom drawn Q that’s as circle-y as a circle can get, accompanied by the geometrically pleasant Gotham. For more on Quipsologies read this entry.
The logo for Brand New, our blog on corporate and brand identity, is bold and red. Few things are better than bold and red. It is set in Vllg’s Apex Serif Extra Bold Small Caps (all in lowercase for extra boldness).
The logo for The Design Encyclopedia, our wiki devoted to all things design, draws its inspiration from the minimalist ideals of the Bauhaus, paired with one of the oldest sans serifs in town, Akzidenz Grotesk (1898!), with a little touch of CMYK for good measure. For more on The Design Encyclopedia read this entry.
Logo for Toronto-based Office for Urbanism, an urban planning firm. The logo uses the initials of the firm’s name — if you squint you can make out the f, and if you think holistically you can see the rest of the letters — to create an abstract icon.
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