Corporate ID: Project 1
- What was your initial reaction to the Whitney identity system after reading the first article?
I have some mixed feelings about the Whitney identity. The first article shares some good points. One point is that it “needed to be flexible enough to accommodate the various proportions of the artwork.” Taking this into consideration, I think this works well because it is simple enough to not distract viewers from featured artworks. At the same time, I’m wondering if it’s too simple to be understood as the Museum’s identity. For example, if I were walking in for the first time and was handed one of these items:
I believe I would see it as more of a design element or a stylistic choice rather than its identity. The movement and flexibility is interesting, but it’s not very often that we see logos that completely change its shape. I feel like consistency is one of the key reasons why certain logos are so easy to identify (they might just change color, change scale, or stand in it’s simplest form). But because the responsive W is already in its simplest form, the change of shape can be a little confusing.
2. In your own words, describe what responsive design is. What are the pros and cons of applying responsive design to an identity system?
I would describe responsive design to be adaptable and identifiable in different colors and sizes. It can also be recognized without the brand name or other information next to it and can stand on its own to represent a company.
3. The new Whitney identity has been criticized as boring and duplicitous due to its simplistic, open-ended design. Do you agree or disagree — why? Are boring and simple one in the same?
I wouldn’t say the Whitney identity is boring, but I do have doubts about the effectiveness due to the reasons I've stated above.
I don’t think boring and simple are the same. Many simple designs have proven to be effective because it contains just enough elements to get the message across. Adding too many elements might make it more unique, but other issues arise (such as being illegible when scaled down).
Museum: Spy Museum
Pertinent business information:
Location: 700 L’Enfant Plaza, SW
Washington, DC 20024
Contact Info: PO Box 23137
Washington, DC 20026 (Mailing address) 202.393.7798 (Phone number)
Tagline (?): step into the shoes of a spy
Mission Statement:
“The Museum’s mission is to educate the public about espionage and intelligence in an engaging way. It provides a context for understanding the important role intelligence has played in history and continues to play today.”
Existing identity:
Museum Interior/exterior:
Mood Board/design inspiration:
Mindmap:
Spy = magnifying glass, technology, Sherlock Holmes, question mark
Magnifying glass = ray of light
Technology = binoculars, radio, 001 code symbols, tech wires, pixels, camera
Camera = eye
Sherlock Holmes = hat
Reviews:
“Really fun time learning and playing. More than I expected from a spy museum with interactive content and unique missions for each player to reinforce content. The facility is top notch. Plenty of restrooms and seats throughout if you need a break. They have a coat closet area for storing coats and free lockers first-come first-serve for bags and purses. The gift shop at the end is big with lots of interesting items from trinkets and keychains to books and games. It’s clear they wanted to make this an amazing experience. Mission Accomplished!”
“It’s a very interesting place! Lots of stories about spies around the world! Real people, real life… During your trip you are involved to be a part of spy mission! We like it! Don’t forget there are two floors and takes around 3–4 hours to explore it!”
“Very interactive museum, with many exhibits to learn from. You can choose to do your own personal undercover mission with a badge they give you in the beginning or not, either way, you’ll be learning a lot. I’d give this museum a couple of hours as there’s just so much to engage with. Staff stays in character and is very helpful.”
I think that 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 10, 13, 18, and 26 have the most potential.
#1, #3, and #10 have a similar concept. I focused on the interactive/technological aspect of the spy museum. I gathered inspiration from the “tech pattern” in my moodboard. #1 has that pattern in the entire letter “Spy”, while #3 has it in just the first letter of each word. #10 has that technical “S” standing alone.
#5 contains an eye within the “P”. I enjoy this concept because I think an eye represents the meaning of spy the most.
I split the museum name horizontally in #6 to show how a spy has two different identities: who they really are and who they are while being undercover. It’s a subtle way to demonstrate that, so I wonder if the concept will be completely missed by people viewing it for the first time. If I move forward with this, I would have the top of the word red and the bottom black or white (depending on background). The museum’s interior uses a lot of red for an accent color, so I’d like to incorporate that into some of these.
#7 is a combo of #3 and #6. I’m splitting the word spy to demonstrate having the 2 identities, but using the tech pattern to separate instead of color.
#13 represents how spies connect the dots, so I wanted the letters to be joined.
#18 is slightly technological but simplified. The circular shape around it is interesting, and I wonder if I could turn that into a magnifying glass as I’ve tried in a few others, but it might take away from the simplicity I like.
#23 I find the most unique of my favorites. Again, I like the idea of the eye representing a spy, but I feel that it is strengthened even further here because it is inside a key. My concept is that a spy keeping an eye on people is the way to unlock the truth.
I decided to move forward with the key one because I think it has the strongest and most recognizable concept. I am experimenting with different backgrounds. I have a couple of my original logo ideas as well as the revised one with connected lashes.
Out of the two, I think the top is working the best. I like the splash of color in the second, but the elements containing color are too small and it’s creating vibrations on certain backgrounds. It is even worse scaled down.
I’m not too sure about the connected ones. Maybe I’m just used to seeing the logo the way I originally created it and it’s hard to see it another way?
Rationale: I combined an eye and a key to symbolize that when spies keep an eye on a person or a situation, they unlock the truth. The spy museum is also very interactive with plenty of games to play, so the key also represents unlocking prizes and winning those games. The logo can be used on a white, black, or red background. The red was chosen because the Spy Museum uses red as their accent color on the interior and exterior of the building. I color-picked these images to find the “median” red.
