excerpt
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I was approached by Oyoun, a Berlin-based cultural organisation that spotlights decolonial, queer-feminist, and migrant perspectives, to work on their new artistic intervention, rongin shagor ('multicoloured ocean' in Bengali). The project attempts to weave together cultural responses from a global community of artists and promote transnational dialogue. The brief was to design a visual identity that would be versatile and adapt to the artworks created in future. Furthermore, the design had to visually emphasise threads of cultural formations, the ocean as a carrier of memories, and the Bengaliness of the name.
I first created a variable identity system. Then I used it to design a brand campaign and environmental graphics for an inaugural exhibition titled: May Ayim: Dichterin. 1996. Finally, a few months later, I also designed cross-channel marketing material and merchandise for the launch of the digital platform, ronginshagor.com
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I was approached by Oyoun, a Berlin-based cultural organisation that spotlights decolonial, queer-feminist, and migrant perspectives, to work on their new artistic intervention, rongin shagor ('multicoloured ocean' in Bengali). The project attempts to weave together cultural responses from a global community of artists and promote transnational dialogue. The brief was to design a visual identity that would be versatile and adapt to the artworks created in future. Furthermore, the design had to visually emphasise threads of cultural formations, the ocean as a carrier of memories, and the Bengaliness of the name.
I first created a variable identity system. Then I used it to design a brand campaign and environmental graphics for an inaugural exhibition titled: May Ayim: Dichterin. 1996. Finally, a few months later, I also designed cross-channel marketing material and merchandise for the launch of the digital platform, ronginshagor.com
I.
visual identity system
︎︎︎Click on the contact sheet for a full-screen view of the imagesresponsive logo
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concept
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I conceptualised the brand identity as a constellation of components. I started with the most prominent—triangle shaped—part of the alphabet of the name in the Bengali script (র). I distorted the letterform as a visual metaphor for cultures contorted by colonialism. Next, I accentuated a part of it as a wave, replicating it two more times to visualise the idea of an ocean. The three distorted triangular forms do not align on purpose. I wanted the overlaps to show the constant tracing and reweaving of the threads of cultural formations, as mentioned in the project's concept note. This motif of the three overlapping distorted letterforms is designed to visualise the core concepts and is the crux of the logo. Two filled shapes of a solid black circle and triangle and an irregular hexagon outline complete the Bengali letterform 'র' and make it more prominent. I have also added the name in Latin script—besides Bengali—to ensure that it is more readable by people in Berlin. The slogan in English completes the logo. The final variable logo is a melange of a motif, letterform, bilingual logotype, and slogan. The elements are connected yet independent. Deploying them in various combinations ensures uniformity while simultaneously maintaining flexibility.
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I conceptualised the brand identity as a constellation of components. I started with the most prominent—triangle shaped—part of the alphabet of the name in the Bengali script (র). I distorted the letterform as a visual metaphor for cultures contorted by colonialism. Next, I accentuated a part of it as a wave, replicating it two more times to visualise the idea of an ocean. The three distorted triangular forms do not align on purpose. I wanted the overlaps to show the constant tracing and reweaving of the threads of cultural formations, as mentioned in the project's concept note. This motif of the three overlapping distorted letterforms is designed to visualise the core concepts and is the crux of the logo. Two filled shapes of a solid black circle and triangle and an irregular hexagon outline complete the Bengali letterform 'র' and make it more prominent. I have also added the name in Latin script—besides Bengali—to ensure that it is more readable by people in Berlin. The slogan in English completes the logo. The final variable logo is a melange of a motif, letterform, bilingual logotype, and slogan. The elements are connected yet independent. Deploying them in various combinations ensures uniformity while simultaneously maintaining flexibility.
typography
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usage
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