Hello and welcome to this video
Gareth here from Tastytuts.com
In this video we are going to look at the MIT Media Lab logo
learn a little bit about the logo and the designer behind it.
The MIT Media Lab logo was designed in 2014
led by Pentagrams and Michael Beirut, born 1957.
Michael Beirut is an American designer
who is also a design critic and designer.
Michael Beirut has won hundreds of
design awards and has led the design for
popular brand identity such as:
Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign
Mohawk
Saks Fifth Avenue
Mastercard
and even the Guitar Hero logo to name a few.
Michael Bierut's design is not exclusive to branding
he has also created work for environmental graphic design
and editorial design.
Amongst all of his work
is logo for MIT Media Lab is one of his best known.
The to MIT Media Lab logo is actually part
of a set of 24 different logos.
The MIT Media Lab is an umbrella organisation
which spreads over 24 different departments.
What makes the MIT logo interesting was its design approach
Michael Bierut established a 7x7 grid system
which he used to create acronym type hieroglyphs for each department.
this grid system deliveres some interesting combinations
with a distinctive visual language.
The same grid system is used to create
additional visual elements
like a complete typeface and an icon set.
So what type of logo is the MIT Media Lab?
Well each logo is essentially a lockup combination mark.
Each logo includes both and logomark element
in the form of an acronym type hieroglyph
and the logotype wordmark element.
The wordmark element in the logo
is a bold Sans Serif typeface and appears to be
Helvetica Neue bold developed in 1983 by D. Stampel AG
this font is a reworked version of the original Helvetica designed in 1957
To quote Michael Bierut on his design:
The reason it worked was that it struck
a balance between a central theme and variations.
The variations were sufficient to help each
of the research groups engender a sense of esprit de corps.
The central theme help them feel unified that they are all about one big idea
which is the innovation that is enabled by the environment created by the media lab overall.
So what do I think about this logo?
Well this is a real simple execution yet it's very distinctive
and Michael Beirut manages to pull it off in only black and white.
I really liked the simplicity and boldness of the logo set.
compared to the previous logo system
I think this one is more practical and works really well.
They all feel as part of one house
the acronym type hieroglyphs have an abstract aesthetic
so they work really well in patterns and textures
and are really striking on business cards and posters when they are used individually.
So what can we learn about this story?
This logo set was designed in 2014
to replace the previous logo system
that had been used since 2011.
The previous logo system had 40,000 different permutations.
To quote Michael Beirut:
So there's 40,000 different versions,
I talked to the person who is head of marketing.
I said well how do you decide which of
the 40,000 different versions to use?
If someone says send me your logo
which one do you send them?
She said oh, I just send the same one over and over again.
So it's tiresome to manage many permutations of a logo.
This was one of the reasons why the logo was redeveloped in 2014.
So the previous logo system only really lasted about three years.
That is pretty short for a logo lifespan.
As interesting, creative and quirky a logo system can be in theory.
Having multiple permutations of a logo can actually be hard to use.
If you'd like to learn more about Michael Beirut
and the MIT Media Lab logo set
you can watch him speak about it
links are in the description.
So that is one of many logos and designers I have spoken about.
If you enjoy this video and want to watch more like it
you can see more episodes in the 'Famous Logos' playlist
link is in description.
Well I hope you enjoyed this video.
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So until next time time have fun guys
and I'll see you in the next video.