UNSW ADA 2021 Annual Graduate Exhibition:
Winning Logo Design
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In 2021, I was the winner of UNSW ADA's 2021 Annual Graduate Exhibition's logo competition, having my work showcased on digital platforms and within UNSW ADA. I translated the visual identity of this logo into other assets such as posters, web banners and animations. After being
stuck in a creative block, I decided to bring my process back into the basics with mark-making. Throughout my process, I wanted the logo to resemble individuality, creativity and collaboration as an homage to the students of UNSW ADA. You can view my concept statement here.
concept statement
Within the current COVID-19 climate, UNSWADA 2021 graduates have had to continue to “adapt, innovate and reimagine”* their projects and courses. Due to the limitations of online learning, collaboration and connection between students has proved to be challenging. For my logo design, I implemented the use of fingerprints through mark-making.
As iteration and imaginative thinking are core elements of mark-making, the use of this method in my design represents the individuality and creativity of the graduate students. With collaboration being a significant aspect of UNSWADA’s vision, the use of multiple fingerprints was also applied to illustrate the students’ efforts to work together during distanced learning. The symbolism of fingerprints additionally mirror each students’ individual experience as well as their process of development and creation throughout the year.
With the minimal format and colour palette, the simple graphics ensure that the fingerprint marks are the focus and voice of the design. The choice of the blue text in the logo was chosen to add contrast and visual interest without detracting from the main design.
To reinforce ideas of adaptation and re-imagination, I ensured that the logo was not bound to its single form through creating various fingerprint marks to construct the ‘A’. This is also seen across the A3 poster designs, web banner and the animation.* The creation of multiple posters was to further strengthen the idea of re-conceptualisation, showing how the logo design can be reworked differently in each poster. This way the multiple posters can be used on their own, or in collaboration to form a cohesive collection. Since the design of the logo is very versatile, changes can be easily made to better suit different products and surfaces.
Overall, this logo seeks to visualise the creative journey of the 2021 graduates and the vision of UNSWADA, as well as pay homage to their resilience and efforts this year.
*https://annual.artdesign.unsw.edu.au/about/