COSI DESIGN SYSTEM REBRAND
I began by studying how COSI (Center of Science and Industry) wants to be seen by their audience. Their current branding markets toward children and families showing how learning can be interactive and fun. I distinguished three core values of innovation, inspiration, and engagement. I wanted to hone in on these three ideas when visually showcasing their brand. Their current branding does have their target audience in mind but I believe it loses some of the ideas of “life long learning” that COSI boasts.
I created a mood board of each core value to research ways of conveying ideas through color, type, image and aesthetics. These boards would fuel the the brainstorming process in designing an innitial logo.
Sketching
Now with visual inspiration, my next step was to design the logo that was encompass COSI as a brand. To start, I began brainstorming and sketching possible logos with the 3 key ideas in mind. Some concepts leaned into one direction more than the other but the end goal was to have a logo that could represent the brand as a whole and be flexible enough to be used in many instances.
Digital Itterations
With a basic idea of the directions I could go with for this identity, I used illistrator to begin fleshing out concepts to see what they could look like as a finalized logo. This is where I began to narrow down the options and ultimatley come to a final logo that felt engaging, innovative and inspiring.
FINAL LOGO
The final logo uses geometric shapes, vibrant colors, a dynamic and asymetric grid to inspire, educate and engage the audience. Each letter and symbolizes an aspect of science that cosi helps teach. The C is green and appears similar to a leaf, representing life. The O is a vibrant red and remains a solid circle to represent a star and outer space. The S houses a deep blue, shifts the baseline grid and represents a wave and the science of the ocean. And finally, the i stands for industry and all “man made” science.
Creating a Flexible Brand Identity
With the logo complete, I now needed to carry over all of the concepts that I had used to establish an identity that could be easily recognizable and flexible enough to use with all possible assets. The key visual elements that I leaned into when creating brand assets each represented a core value. The diagonal change in the baseline is not only an interesting visual element, but it also represents hands-on side of COSI which they are famously known for so. Gradients and leading lines show the process of arriving from one place to another, or in other words, innovation. And the simple geometric shapes call back to education at its earliest roots and inspires life long learning in the audience.
Big Idea
Finally, I wanted to create a “Big Idea” to go along with my branding. This is something unique to cosi that goes beyond assets any museum would have like a website or t-shirts. This took form in the “Bring the Science Home” Initiative. A way for guests to continue learning after going back home. They do this buy purchasing fun scientific merchandise such as microscopes, ant farms, telescopes or anything that will get the customer hooked on learning. Of course, each of these products will have unmistakable COSI branding so that the guests will bring those core values home with them.