MIT List Visual Arts Center

Our effort began with re-envisioning the List Center’s website. There was a need to better support the deep content the website offered, and a clarity of purpose: artwork and artists should be the star of this site. What resulted is a frictionless digital experience that enables site visitors to easily find an upcoming exhibition or event quickly, while equally supporting those visitors who want to dive deep into the List’s recently digitized archives. The design intent is a “less is more” approach, with color, type, and graphics always serving to support, and never distract from, the artwork on the site.

The List Center is well respected across the globe and while we knew a brand refresh was in order, we wanted to retain the recognition and equity embodied in the logo, originally drawn by Toky. Working with David Jonathan Ross we refined the details of the letterforms, and created an outlined version of the logomark providing a more fluid and flexible logo system.

The List Center’s brand needed to work both for those who visit the museum on MIT’s campus and those who follow the museum’s work from across the globe. The brand system employs a toolkit of elements that can be mixed and matched to turn up and down the visual volume of the system depending on the use case. Banners bring in vivid color and patterns, while the site sticks to neutrals and simple typography.