The Digital Library class (LIS462) at Simmons College Graduate School of Library & Information Science developed a digital library from the scrapbook of Ruth Mitchell Wunderly, a Simmons College alum from the early twentieth century.
My role consisted of the creation of a logo to identify the digital library in its natural environment (the web) and in promotional materials.
During the research phase, I studied the scrapbook elements and other items from the same historic period. This research helped me to define the style of the logo, as influenced by Art Déco, a very popular decorative style at the time. Art Déco used clean geometric forms. Its most common colors were blue, gold, and green. I used these characteristics in the symbol that accompanies the text, which shows a book constructed of individual pages. This concept originated from the nature of the scrapbook itself, which is formed of individual unconnected elements that represent a story, a time, or an institution.
The logo received an enthusiastic response from the class and other members of the Simmons community. Its colors became the dominant palette for the digital library’s website.The logo has also been used in printed promotional materials.