Graduate designer Nadia Troeman has created a conceptual system of branding and identity for her college, which would constantly change according to the cultural associations of individual students.
Developed while Troeman was studying for her MA in Creative Practice for Narrative Environments at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, the project envisages unique logos for every student, generated by their personal cultural interests.
Top image: university logo. Above: sample student logo
These logos would evolve as students add to and change their answers to a list of questions about what has cultural importance to them.
Above: sample student logos
These student logos could be combined to form logos for each course, which would in turn combine to create the university logo.
Above: course logo
Above: course logo
Here's some more information from Troeman:
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The project is called 'Narrative Identities':
‘Narrative Identities’ raises the question of identity, specifically cultural identity, in a world of increasing globalization where people and cultures are converging more than ever before. The question ‘who are you?’ is becoming increasingly difficult for some people to answer. Cultures are meeting, morphing and exchanging. The idea of a fixed identity is becoming redundant. We have to be able to play with representations in order to show a more accurate picture of who we are culturally. My project illustrates a variety of cultural references and challenges our interpretation and understanding of what these references mean to us today.
Explanation images and project:
I choose to tackle the enrollment system currently used at Central Saint Martins for my project. I created a system that allows students to express themselves more freely about who they are. This structure is a mock-up from how the website of the university would function when this project is connected to the digitalized (it's not at the moment) enrollment system. Each question that a student answers will trigger a visual, when all the cultural catagories in the system are filled in, the students will have created his/her own personal dynamic logo. A student is free to change their answers as often as they would like, their dynamic logo will in turn also be in constant flux, illustrating that culture and identity are never static.
The system itself isn't static either, since students are able to add to it, when they feel other items are important to them culturally.
All the logos of students in 1 course will be gathered to create a course logo this logo will be altered twice a year when enrollment takes place. All the course logos will in turn be collected to create a University logo. This logo will also be updated twice a year. So the university will have a constantly changing identity that is in sync with the students that attend.
From this logo a corporate design is created this of course will also be changing constantly.
On enrollment day, the students will be greeted by the Universities logo, and the more they walk to the place they need to be the more personal the visuals in the hallway get: from uni to courses' to personal logos. In the room they have to be they will receive their student card which they can use to 'call up' their image on the digital screen. Links will be shown with others who have the same interests.
Above: corporate identity poster
