maurice.meilleur
Association for Political Theory logo
Logo designed for The Association for Political Theory.
Surveys of APT members reflecting on conferences show that many of them think what stands out most about the Association is the extended conversation and interaction among members and the diversity of their approaches and interests, and the relatively intimate scale of the conferences. They also appreciate the discovery of unexpected connections between different approaches or areas of research.
It was these four qualities—interactivity, diversity, closeness, and serendipity—that I chose to try to capture in the logo.
I rejected a more traditional approach to the design—one based on a shield, badge, or medallion—because it tends to produce designs that are too anodyne, univocal, monumental, or complacent, none of which qualities describe the APT. I also ruled out a purely typographical monogram, for many of the same reasons, and a purely
gestural or abstract graphic (like the APSA’s, for example) was out because it is very hard to create such graphics that are interesting, memorable, and connected to the organization.
The logo contains a graphic and a wordmark. The graphic is an abstracted monogram of the Association created from overlapping rectangles. The overlaps create a number of separate and unique shapes that can be colored together or individually, or used
to frame other graphics or images. It is the shape and configuration of the collected images, not their color or content, that distinguishes them together as the logo’s graphic. Allowing multiple colors is better in keeping with the diversity of approaches and interests of the members of the association the logo represents.
The wordmark uses the small capitals of a typeface called Ludwig, created by a Dutch type designer, Fred Smeijers, and released just this year by OurType in Belgium. The face is a contemporary reinterpretation of late 19th- and early 20th-century German
‘grotesque’ or sans-serif typefaces. It has the property of seeming at once novel and established, charming and (especially in these weights) sturdy.
Association for Political Theory logo
Logo designed for The Association for Political Theory.
Surveys of APT members reflecting on conferences show that many of them think what stands out most about the Association is the extended conversation and interaction among members and the diversity of their approaches and interests, and the relatively intimate scale of the conferences. They also appreciate the discovery of unexpected connections between different approaches or areas of research.
It was these four qualities—interactivity, diversity, closeness, and serendipity—that I chose to try to capture in the logo.
I rejected a more traditional approach to the design—one based on a shield, badge, or medallion—because it tends to produce designs that are too anodyne, univocal, monumental, or complacent, none of which qualities describe the APT. I also ruled out a purely typographical monogram, for many of the same reasons, and a purely
gestural or abstract graphic (like the APSA’s, for example) was out because it is very hard to create such graphics that are interesting, memorable, and connected to the organization.
The logo contains a graphic and a wordmark. The graphic is an abstracted monogram of the Association created from overlapping rectangles. The overlaps create a number of separate and unique shapes that can be colored together or individually, or used
to frame other graphics or images. It is the shape and configuration of the collected images, not their color or content, that distinguishes them together as the logo’s graphic. Allowing multiple colors is better in keeping with the diversity of approaches and interests of the members of the association the logo represents.
The wordmark uses the small capitals of a typeface called Ludwig, created by a Dutch type designer, Fred Smeijers, and released just this year by OurType in Belgium. The face is a contemporary reinterpretation of late 19th- and early 20th-century German
‘grotesque’ or sans-serif typefaces. It has the property of seeming at once novel and established, charming and (especially in these weights) sturdy.