COREY ANN LEAMON

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/ marine science institute


project type

logo system


client

Marine Science Institute


collaborators

Lauren Dickens, Mala Kumar

Javier Viramontes

Director Lee Fulman of the University of Texas Marine Science Institute (MSI) in Port Aransas needed a new logo for his program to replace the old Mahi Mahi fish. Developed in 1996, this sporting fish was in reference to their main source of support at the time: fishermen. In the following decade, their audience shifted and they also began interacting with the public, grant donors, scientists, students, and tourists. MSI’s mission of research, outreach, and education became both local and remote as the program grew. A more reflective motto was adopted: “A resource for Texans, a resource for the world”. With this in mind, Director Fulman believed the dated image hurt their ability to share MSI as a national resource. Together, we designed a logo that would increase visibility and link their disparate elements.

Exposure to the many facets of MSI allowed us to better understand their needs both internally and externally. To reach such a wide audience and accommodate the mission of MSI, abstraction provided a perfect means to simplify a complex array of work and goals. By creating a lexicon of words (ex: converge, water, wetlands, biology, and academic) descriptive of MSI and abstracting them into illustrations, we discovered a solution. An “M” formed by three overlapping shapes represents the three major goals of MSI, and a touch of burnt orange aligns them under UT’s scholarly standards. The logo is relatable to a variety of audiences who interpret it uniquely. The slant plays as an abstraction of waves, a traditional marine iconography, while the “M” and blue base are also a reference to the word marine in itself.

The logo’s modular application speaks to micro/macro dichotomies spurred by MSI’s motto, as well as the existence of layered scientific fabric at molecular and systematic levels. Elements of transparency leave room for play in its presentation, giving it the ability to move seamlessly between two and three-dimensional forms without any loss in visual integrity. As it infiltrates newsletters, websites, stationary, clothing, equipment, classrooms, and research labs, we hope this logo will become representative of the Marine Science Institute and the many resources it benefits to not only Texas, but also the country as a whole.





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all content developed by corey ann leamon, 2015