European Open Social Cloud (winning entry)
Brand Identity
A new logo and identity for a European Commission initiative promoting open science practices.
The EOSC aims to make it easier to find, access, and reuse research data, tools and services. It builds and connects digital infrastructures to provide seamless access to research data and services for the scientific community, thus providing an environment where European researchers from different scientific disciplines and countries can work together in a more efficient way.
The logo I designed for the association embraces the circular forms of the lowercase 'eosc' abbreviation, as well as the curved spine of the 's' letterform. The notion of data visualisation is subtly referenced with the motif of a pie chart. Flow and movement are evoked, combining logo with typography in a fluid rhythm.
The following initial ideas were generated without scrutiny on Illustrator, rather than sketching in a notepad. I chose to work in black and white, leaving the colour palette considerations for later in the design development stage. I wrote a list of key-words to consider while I drafted these ideas:
Research data, Cutting edge, Datasets, Innovative, Efficient
I made an effort from the beginning of this project to avoid some of the clichés that one might associate with a science organisation, such as test tubes, lasers and space. Relying on such imagery would be too obvious and reductive for the innovation that goes on at EOSC.
The most successful concept featured a subtle reference to data and research by showing the slices of a pie chart in the symbol. I noticed that most of the letters in 'eosc' have naturally rounded forms, the only letter not sharing this quality being the 's.' However, when I rotated the glyph ninety degrees, the counters became more consistent with the other letters.
By combining the pie chart and the the rotated 's' glyph, I had a logotype that felt cohesive and fluid. The symbol was constructed using two circles, to be consistent with the geometric properties of the logotype. I also rounded the corners of the symbol so that it matched the corners of the letters. The notion of data is communicated effectively, cleverly paired with a subtle reference to the infinity symbol.
Having the flexibility to work with other partnerships was an important consideration. With a wide arrange of organisations and alternative identification styles, I developed a system that keeps a uniform look regardless of what organisation the EOSC name may sit beside.
In November 2022, EOSC invited me to present my winning logo at their Symposium in Prague.
