Codecademy Grows Up With New Pentagram-Designed Brand ID

See on Scoop.itSocial Media, the 21st Century Digital Tool Kit

“The Internet’s premier platform for free education in computer programming had an outdated wordmark. Pentagram’s Eddie Opara came to the rescue with a new visual identity.”
The new branding program would started with Codecademy Reimagined. This was based upon the conclusion that, “if we wanted to grow and mature as a brand, we required a thorough redesign of our entire product.”
WHY A REDESIGN?
REASON #1 – START FRESH
REASON #2 – BRAND MATURENESS

codecademy brand
Old ‘Lobster’ brand and new ‘CoDIN’ brand

OUR NEW LOOK
PHASE 1

“The first thing we tackled was the logo, as the key centerpiece of our new look.”

Codecademy Identity from Pentagram on Vimeo

PHASE 2
“After defining the main brand pieces with Pentagram (logo, typography, iconography, color), we started applying it internally to our entire web ecosystem by building a comprehensive number of reusable design patterns.”

codecademy brand
Evolution of a new Pentagram-designed brand

PHASE 3
“This was the longest, and perhaps most exhausting, of all phases, where we redesigned 70+ webpages in tandem with other collateral material (email templates, slides, apparel, etc).”

Alison D. Gilbert‘s insight:

A brand needs to look like what a company does, is or represents. It should not be literal. That is for amateurs. But when a company teaches code, its brand needs to ‘speak’ code fluently.

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Spreading Joy : Posting some of my favorite things today

Spreading Joy from +Diply

Spreading joy is an essential component of a fulfilling life.

This statement may seem like a profundity. But is it one of the most basic elements of a joyful life. We are all so busy keeping busy. Social Media has become all consuming. It is a gift and a curse.

Today, I am inspired to share the joy I am finding on it. I have been drawn to Google+ lately. I am sure it has many more profound uses than the one I have just discovered. It is the Pinterest component. In face, I feel like I am on Pinterest when I use the ‘posting’ feature. So let’s pin some Google+ posts (from +Diply and +Fashion is my Attitude) as a way of spreading joy today.

These hydrangea cupcakes make the most appealing photo and irresistible treat. I smile every time I look at this image and the others that follow.

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World-class architecture joins high-level sustainability at new Vienna university

This blog post is a reprint of an article by the same name, World-class architecture joins high-level sustainability at new Vienna university. It was written by Phyllis Richardson and appeared in Gizmag.com on February 19, 2014.

world-class architecture

The new campus of the WU (Vienna University of Economics and Business) is a like a smorgasbord of 21st century architecture, with signature buildings by Zaha Hadid Hitoshi Abe and Estudio Carme Pinós, among others. But the world-class campus has equally high standards for energy efficiency and sustainability.

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    Though the buildings of the 100,000 square-meter (1 million sq-ft) campus were created by a roster of international talent, the master plan was conceived by the Viennese office of BUSarchitektur in partnership with BOA (büro für offensive aleatorik, or “Studio for Offensive Randomness”). BUS also designed the Teaching Center.

world-class architecture

The school opened in October 2013 to 25,000 students and 1,500 faculty, but its green energy ethos was in place well beforehand, as work was carried out according to Guidelines for Sustainable Construction. These include environmentally-friendly logistics and the reduction of traffic, dust and pollution during building.

Energy and Sustainability
Sustainability and a holistic approach were key factors in the designs, as were “green building” guidelines, which follow international certification requirements. Since it opened in October 2013, the school has been meeting between 60 and 70 percent of its energy needs for heating and cooling through geothermal systems (which uses the energy produced by the change in temperature from water pumped from below ground). Heat recovery units in all buildings have an efficiency rate of 75 percent. Heating, ventilation and cooling are carefully monitored and calibrated according to demand. Green roofs were installed wherever possible.

The campus plan for ecological urbanism also includes 9,900 sq m (106,000 sq ft) of bushes and plants as well as 1,600 sq m (17,000 sq ft) of lawn, and 1,000 secure bicycle spaces. Lighting sensors in the university buildings not only detect whether rooms are vacant or occupied, but in some cases they gauge how much natural light is available, reducing the amount of artificial illumination being used. Classrooms and meeting rooms receive natural light from external windows and from interior atrium spaces.

Communal spaces and interaction
According to the team from BUSarchitekten, the overarching aim of the concept was to create a campus that encouraged social interaction. This is why the new buildings are aligned along the central pedestrian boulevard, or “walk along the park.” Spaces between and around buildings have been designed with seating and planting, including several plazas and a light garden.

So determined was the team to ensure maximum personal contact that the underground parking was designed to expel people into the communal open spaces, rather than allow them to enter their own buildings, unnoticed, below ground. More than half of the whole area, about 55,000 sq m (540,000 sq ft), has been devoted to open or communal space.

The Learning Center, Zaha Hadid
The centerpiece of the campus is the Learning Center, designed by Zaha Hadid. The building is wrapped in Hadid’s signature sweeping curves with an upper volume projecting out toward the pedestrian path. In addition to holding the library, the building houses lounge spaces and various types of meeting rooms. These are contained in separate enclosed volumes that are similarly curved and transversed by angled walkways and lines of windows so that they resemble a group of cruise liners docking together around a towering center hall.

world-class architecture

Striking white and pristine formwork concrete make this a bright, rather majestic space, and certainly one that draws some attention to the overall cost of the campus, said to be around €500 million (US$ 685 million). What is less obvious is the fact that, according to the engineers, the building is about ten times more energy-efficient than standard buildings of a similar size.

The Executive Academy, NO.MAD Arquitectos
The skewed geometries of the Executive Academy by NO.MAD arquitectos (Image: Campus WU/boa…
The distinctive black and silver Executive Academy building for researchers and mature students anchors the western end of the campus promenade. Designed by Madrid-based NO.MAD, the building appears as an irregular stack of blocks. The facade is covered in glass and aluminum, materials used to create degrees of transparency and reflection. Window patterns appear to follow the lines of a maze, or a circuit board, but were calculated according to an algorithm program.
world-class architecture

Windows all have thermal protection and light-filtering systems. Inside, soaring window sections and pure concrete contrast with mirrored panels so that some rooms have a stark, cathedral-like atmosphere. The seven floors offer 18,000 sq m (194,000 sq ft) of teaching and learning spaces.

The Administration and Law building, CRAB studio
The Administration and Law building is a more lively and linear complex, designed by London’s CRAB (Cook Robotham Architectural Bureau) studio. However, this structure looks like it might have been conceived in the sunny climes of Santa Fe, New Mexico, rather than under the gray skies of northern Europe.

Administration and Law complex, by CRAB studio (Image: CRAB studio)
Painted vivid blood orange, which graduates to pale clementine, topped by lemon yellow and cream, the building wears a screen of rough timber planks. The planks are meant to act as sun screens and refer to the nearby Prater Woods. Sir Peter Cook, of CRAB, was a founding member of Archigram, the avant-garde British design group of the 1960s, and seems to have maintained his love of the visually provocative here.
world-class architecture

The Departmental building by Estudio Carme Pinós (Image: Campus WU/boanet)
No less striking, though less colorful, the Departmental building by Estudio Carme Pinós plays with rigid geometries. Windows and casements in gray metal flow in a zig-zag pattern over white walls. These patterned volumes alternate with solid gray orthogonal sections, all joined by a curved central form. Stepped and circular cut-out shapes are used throughout the interior, demonstrating some of Pinós’ trademark attention to quirky details. To help maintain internal temperatures, window shutters open and close automatically according to solar conditions.
world-class architecture
Teaching Center and Auditorium building, BUS architektur
BUSarchitektur won the competition, with BOA, for the master plan of the site, so it is probably fitting that their building is one of two forming the main entrance of the campus. With a skin of weathered Cor-Ten steel, it resembles a cake dusted in cocoa powder. The monolithic structure is broken up into sections of steel with layers of recessed windows.

Interior of the auditorium within the Cor-Ten steel building by BUSarchitektur (Image: Cam…
The Center is home to the main auditorium, which is also clad in steel and sits within a large atrium space, making a feature of the Cor-Ten cladding. Stairs and ramps run up through the atrium, lead out of the building and up to the roof garden, continuing gestures of social interaction and open access.
world-class architecture

The Student Center, by Hitoshi Abe (Image: Campus WU/boanet)
The elongated slender sections of the Student Center building were inspired by the layers of French millefeuille pastry, according to the architects, and are meant to give the impression of permeability. Ribbons of black and white sections (the darkened window glass alternating with thin bands of the facade) and the curved forms do give the building a delicate impact.
world-class architecture
Designed by Japanese architect Hitoshi Abe, the duo-chrome complex serves multiple functions, with long segments joined by long slender atrium spaces. These spaces are meant to promote communal activity, as well as providing corridors of natural light.

Source: Vienna University of Economics and Business

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Women of the World Art Exhibition, Presented by Comptroller George Maragos

Women of the World Art Exhibit
Women of the World Art Exhibit

Go to this link for the Facebook page of ‘Women of the World” Art Exhibition, for more information and to sign up for this free event.

The invitation reads:

“Dear Friends,

It gives me great pride to invite you to join us for the “Women of the World” Art Exhibition on Wednesday February 26th at 6pm in the Theodore Roosevelt Executive & Legislative Building (located at 1550 Franklin Avenue in Mineola, New York). This FREE event will feature over 50 of Long Island’s most distinguished female artists and photographers in efforts to spread awareness for the arts.

During the event, entrants, selected by event curator Jill Rader Levine, will be judged by industry experts and academic professionals in two categories, fine arts and photography. Judges will include prominent members of the art community with winners in each category receiving prizes.

This event will serve as an opportunity for the community to enjoy the evening together as well as enjoy fine art and photography reflective of the great talent available here on Long Island.

Light fare and beverages will be served”.

Event logo designed by Elizabeth Cassidy – one of the exhibitors.
Music by Chuck Idol

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Cultures Live On Through Indigenous Crafts

Indigenous crafts

Indigenous crafts may ultimately be all that survive of many cultural traditions. As I discussed in my last blog post Can Indigenous Societies Survive?, Indigenous Societies are in peril. In researching the photos to use in this post, I was struck by the amazing beauty in the everyday lives of Indigenous peoples.

I did not see art as we know Art, the kind that hangs in museums that can’t be touched. I saw creativity and extraordinary beauty in things that related to their everyday lives in Indigenous Crafts. Since I did not focus on this in my other blog post, I would remiss not to emphasize it here.

It is apparent from these photos that the people take great pride in their creativity. They may not see art as we do but they clearly express talents that must be preserved. They appreciate and make things of beauty as part of their daily lives; such as a horse with blue eyes and the set up for making their cheese. Their crafts speak to their cultures, to what is important to them and what they treasure in their lives.

I realized this when I saw the picture of a horse’s saddle created by someone from the Mongolian Nomads. These photos are part of a photo essay about the Mongolian Nomads made by Taylor Weidman done for the Global Oneness Project.

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The feature photo at the beginning of this post and the one at the end are from a story by Unnikrishnan Raveendranathan. They demonstrate the craft of basket weaving. It is a lost art that has been revived, in this case by Edward Willie, so that he could teach it to his daughter. He also said, “I teach weaving to others so that I can share the connection to the earth that it gives us.”

Indigenous cultures and their crafts are what connect all of us to the earth. This is why we treasure them even as our technology destroys their way of life. Noam Chomsky said it best in this quote, “It’s pretty ironic that the so-called ‘least advanced’ people are the ones taking the lead in trying to protect all of us, while the richest and most powerful among us are the ones who are trying to drive the society to destruction.”

The irony is that as we destroy the cultures of the Indigenous peoples, we grow to treasure their art. We stick it in museums or buy it at great cost at auction. Somehow that is how we ‘technologically advanced’ peoples know how to appreciate nature’s beauty. We put it in cages, we hang it on walls, we frame it in museums. We bemoan the loss of these Indigenous Societies but only know how to keep them alive through their Indigenous Crafts.

Indigenous crafts
Edward Willie Basket weaving photographed by Unnikrishnan Raveendranathan

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Can Indigenous Societies Survive?

indigenous societies

I have done a fair amount of research on Indigenous Societies around the world. They fascinate me. Most Indigenous Societies that still exist seem to be in peril. I wonder, ‘how much longer can they survive’?

Many of the stories I have read are from The Global Oneness Project. Amazingly brave and talented artists, photographers and writers travel throughout the world to study Indigenous Peoples. Their stories and the photos taken may become the last tangible proof that Indigenous Societies still exist somewhere on the planet. It seems that only in the remotes places where nature fortifies its children against invasion do societies continue intact. This is the case with the Mustangs, monks living in an isolated corner of Nepal surrounded by high mountains which separate and protect them from the outside world.

a group of monks on horse back.
The Mustangs, monks of Nepal photographed by Taylor Weidman

    Besides wondering if Indigenous Tribes can survive is the question, ‘Why Are They Disappearing’? This is what I would like to focus on. Indigenous people are intimate with their natural environment. As more of nature is usurped by ‘civilized’ men for other uses, thrown out of balance by ‘climate change’ or outright destroyed by technological advancements’, the people whose land is a physical extension of themselves die as a culture. They individually may survive as the ‘American Indians’ did. But they were confined to reservations, raped of their culture, their dignity, their identity, their land and their spiritual connection to the earth and their natural world.
how the Indians were treated
Native American Tribe Policy from Victoriana.com

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    The Mongolian Nomads, studied and photographed by Taylor Weidman, co-founder of the Vanishing Cultures Project. In both cases either man’s interference, climate change, desertification and the lure of a modern world are eating away at not only their cultural integrity but also their very survival. The damming of the Omo River is destroying the livelihood of half a million Africans. Climate change, desertification and the awareness of a modern life are transforming the Mongolian landscape.
    But there is some hope on the horizon. It is unlikely that many or any of the Indigenous Societies will survive as they have historically or geographically. But there is a strong desire to keep their rich cultural heritages alive and if possible, their way of living alive as well. In the case of a Yup’ik Eskimo town on the Western coast of Alaska, families are struggling to maintain the subsistence lifestyle of their ancestors.
    This story is one of destruction, devastation and at the same time an indominable spirit to keep some of the richest cultures on our planet alive. Whatever these people can do on their own or what others are doing to help, all of these Indigenous Societies will survive in our own hearts and minds as we connect to the Mother Earth Spirit that birthed us all.
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FINALE: A Charrette Corporation Fond Farewell

The famous Charrette red van
The Charrette delivery van @ The Charrette Corporation
How It Began
What began as a single article, written by me as the NY Graphic Design Examiner, evolved into a series of articles, seven in total, that spanned a year’s time to complete. Although the time to compile all the materials, including researching, interviewing primary sources and so on did not take a full year, a new assignment as an author for The Digital Brand Marketing Blog took me away from the project for sometime during that year. In fact, this multi-author blog has made it to the semi-finals of the Social Media Examiner’s Top Ten Blogs 2012 competition.

But it was overdue to be completed, as hard as it was to write a Charrette Corporation fond farewell. It was like a long ‘good bye’ that no one wants to make when dear friends must part. But it had to be done. Essentially, I knew what the final article would be about, the store designed by architect, David Paul Helpern, a fellow student of Charrette Corporation founders, Lionel Spiro and Blair Brown, who all attended the Harvard Graduate School of Design. The store, located on Manhattan’s East side on Lexington Avenue in the East 30’s, was the Crowning Jewel of the Charrette NY retail side.

Although the commercial accounts handled by a sales force that covered much of the East Coast and into the Midwest were much larger than the retail side sales, the retail side was the face of the corporation. This gave Charrette the opportunity to show the world the ‘stuff it was made of’. As the tip of the iceberg, it glistened in the sun and shone like a well-polished gem. The flagship store was the ultimate representation of the Charrette brand.

It was a company whose name was synonymous with quality. The tools and supplies manufactured for and sold by Charrette had to be of the highest quality. The pedigree that resulted from employment at the company practically guaranteed future employment anywhere when the time came for someone to move on.

The Charrette corporate culture, philosophy and brand development was such that it is possible that other retail corporations fashioned their stores after Charrette. They were clean looking with simple straight lines, well designed, displaying everyday items as if they were high end designer merchandise.

 

The Announcement for the Charrette NY Crowning Jewel
The Announcement for the Charrette NY Crowning Jewel © Illustration: Johanna Bohoy for Charrette Corp.
What Happened
One article led to another as one primary resource introduced me to the next. Both founders eventually became available and many memorable hours were spent on the phone reminiscing about their beloved company. Supplies, catalogs, photos and other memorabilia were supplied to accompany the memories. One by one, staff, customers and HGSD alumni were located and interviewed.

The generosity of everyone was as real as the quality of the Charrette inventory. The Charrette culture had affected everyone who came in touch with it. The writing of this story took on a life of its own, a life that also had to be written in a way that gave credence to this corporate culture and all its glorious history.

So I wrote and wrote and wrote. When would it end? How would it end? Numerous months’ hiatus from the writing became awkward and the pressure to finish overcame the same lingering feeling of not wanting to say good-bye. But at the same time, it was clear that the final tribute had to be made and how to do it.

That is where The Charrette NY Crowning Jewel came into the picture. It was a store that was written up in two nationally respected professional magazines, Interiors (February 1982) and Visual Merchandising (June 1982), had a grand, grand opening and one that was built to design specifications. It was glorious. Everything about it and in it was a designer’s dream. In addition, the place, their products, and award winning packaging designs were featured in two nationally renowned design magazines, Communication Arts (March/April 1982) and Print (May/June 1982).

And then, in spite of the attempts to keep up with the times of transition from analog to digital design, it was time to let go. No more founders, some staff stayed, some staff went. The era that was the original Charrette was gone. The company was bought by a succession of other companies. It even became known by different names. But the culture and the philosophy could not be packaged, bought and sold.

 

the Charrette trailer with the unforgettable Charrette brand
Gone but Never Forgotten, A Charrette Trailer @ 2011 Christine Miller, former Charrette employee
How It Ended
So it was time to say good-bye, for all of us, the founders, the staff, the customers and even this author of a series of articles that became the Charrette NY Chronicle that took a year to write. It is all over. But much will live on in the minds and memories of those whose lives were touched by the experience of their involvement.

There is a Charrette Alumni Group on Linkedin. I am the only civilian to have the honor of belonging. There is also an Internet photo archive on flickr. Finally and in some small way, it is my sincere hope that the Charrette Chronicle will be part of this legacy. It is dedicated to all the wonderful people who let me into their lives and shared their stories so that I could write a series in honor of them and their Charrette experience. Thank you all. I wish you a fond farewell. You shall never be forgotten, Charrette Corporation.

Related Article Links
Gone But Never Forgotten: An Invitation to a Graphic Memoir
The Baby Was Born In a Harvard Closet
Charrette Meets ‘Big Apple’ Graphic Standards
The Charrette NY Creative Culture
Paul Rand: the NYC born and educated graphic designer, Part One
Part Two: Paul Rand, the NYC born graphic designer
The Charrette NY Chronicle Completed

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Blogging about my Pinterest Passion

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