Bard Graduate Center: Decorative Arts, Design History and Material Culture is an academic institution devoted to the study of the history of the material world and the objects that people make to transform their surroundings: architecture, craft and design. As one of the leading institutions devoted to this highly specialized field, the school needed a new institutional identity that communicated its importance. The new system is a sophisticated, flexible kit of parts that supports a broad base of applications, from print to signage to website. The new identity makes Bard Graduate Center’s long name manageable by breaking it up, stacking it and anchoring it to a black bar, a graphic device that is used throughout the program. The typography appears in Akkurat and is set Swiss-style: flush left, rag right. The line spacing is tight and the letterforms touch to create a pattern of typography that suggests a textured or ornamental filigree but is still highly legible.

An effective way of showing brand application.