ISM (Information System Management) is a department in the University of Michigan that combines technology and information to help others; they got referred to me by my friend to create a new logo for them. After discussing potential ideas, we all believed that negative space would work great for the logo, making it more unique than any other typographic logo with plain text. The ISM team already previously agreed that they want a typographic logo compared to a logomark. I began sketching many ideas using negative space to form the S in the logo; It was in the perfect position due to the I and the M's straight lines in the logo. I experimented with how much of the S should cross over to the surrounding letters; I vectored out my results and coloured them in the University colours as instructed and discussed the best idea. In the final version, I applied a gradient to the parts that make the S to make it clear for the audience to understand the hidden S.
Initial ideas vectored:
Further development and colouring:
Final design:
2018