While I was studying in the department, I was approached by the chair of the DHA&A to create a logo for it. At first, my client suggested basing the logo upon the signature of Albrecht Dürer, a famous artist and print designer during the Renaissance and whose signature would be an obvious nod to the department's focus in studies. I also drew upon the logo of the College of Humanities and Fine Arts, which the department is a part of, to create another potential design.
The design process halted for end-of-semester exams and papers, and when I came back to this project, I approached it in a different way. Instead of drawing upon pre-existing visuals, I wanted to focus upon the welcoming and inclusive nature of the department. With that in mind, I played around with different designs featuring an ampersand.
I settled upon three logos to refine: a logotype with a hand-lettered ampersand; a version of the HFA-inspired logo I designed in the first round of concepts; and an icon that features an ampersand like a framed piece of art. The logotype creates a warm, welcoming feel with the organic nature of the ampersand and how it connects all of the characters. The second logotype would emphasize DHA&A's place within the College of Humanities and Fine Arts, while also differentiating it. The iconic logo emphasizes the artistic nature of the department's studies, as well as showing how young and forward-thinking the people are.
I selected two typefaces for my client's consideration: a round, modern sans-serif and a friendly, professional slab serif. Both compliment different aspects of the department's image, and I paired the slab-serif with the hand-lettered logotype and the sans-serif with the artwork icon to further emphasize the qualities of modernism and inclusivity.
The final two logos were presented in a DHA&A faculty meeting at the beginning of February. In the end, neither was chosen, since the full faculty couldn't decide on what they wanted in a logo, and following departmental publications simply used the logo of the College of Humanities and Fine Arts.
Who's Keiran?
Keiran Pillman is a designer, illustrator, and researcher living in Rochester, NY. They have a BFA in New Media Design from the Rochester Institute of Technology (2015), and a MFA in Art History from the University of Massachusetts Amherst (2017). They have worked as a freelance designer and illustrator for seven years, doing projects for a variety of clients.
In their spare time, Keiran enjoys running, hiking, writing both fiction and non-fiction, and serving as a loyal minion for their cat.