Angela Natividad's Live & Uncensored!

24 March 2011

The MIT Media Lab's Algorithmic Logo



There are few ways to credibly reinvent the logo. (Consider.) But as our perception of what is grows more fluid, I suppose it only makes sense that people are trying to lend the same freedom to logos without compromising what they're supposed to stand for (the fixed aspect of a brand's spirit).

The MIT Media Lab found a really cool way of doing this: the algorithmic logo. It lends just enough fluidity to yield 40,000 different image variations - without losing any of its core qualities. In that way it's the perfect representation of this media space: fixed, but not; consistent, but flexible; unchanging but dynamic by nature.

Using three colors plus black, the algorithmic design features three intersecting spotlights that can be arranged into 40,000 unique shapes and 12 colors. Researchers can individualize the logo for their business stationery yet still link themselves to the Media Lab. The concept is geeky, serendipitous, and a melding of math and design to arrive at a different way of looking at things.

Fitting that the logo now spearheads a brand that hasn't been able to settle on a visual identity for decades.

Work by Brooklyn's own E. Roon Kang and Richard The of The Green Eyl.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

they completely stole the idea from Piet Mondrian

Howie-Shizzle said...

HAHAHA! Maybe Piet went to MIT? =)

My friend helps run MIT's NuVu Studios. Those people are smart! Not quite Arizona State's level of excellence. But definitely up there.