I found this forum through youthedesigner.com and it was listed as THE top graphic design forum. I saw the crit section and asked myself, "Why not?"

Here's an identity program case study I did during my spring quarter at the University of Washington as a junior in the Visual Communication Design program. It was a case study for the Port of Seattle (won't be used at all, heh). The instructor was a practiced design for 30 years and although he liked the work, I thought it'd be interesting to get some opinions on the work outside of the faculty and fellow colleagues. Any critique is welcome!

Also something that was interesting was that just a few months before the class, the Port of Seattle identity was redone by Ardent Sage and was a feature on underconsideration.com.



So here was my take on it. I was trying to emphasize the company's overall need to move in a new direction (sustainability, improved management), but still reference the original values and brand pillars upon which it was founded (economic prosperity, community–based outreach + orientation). The circle used as the foundation of the mark is supposed to communicate "coming around full circle." All of the curves of the terminals of the mark and crossbars/ligatures of the type are based off of the same circular curves used to build the mark, hinting towards a systematic and logical approach, where everything is connected, yet unique.