Moore graphic design students are working with a "brand" new client: the Philadelphia Department of Human Services. DHS has challenged students in Rosemary Murphy’s senior Brand Identity Class to design a new logo for the department, which is going through a transformation and undergoing a massive reform effort.
“The current DHS logo is unpopular with staff and doesn’t identify with it as an agency,” said Alicia Taylor, DHS director of communications. “We believed it was time for a fresh new logo to go with all of the great work we are doing. We were pleased with our partnership with Moore College and the designs exceeded our expectations.”
On January 18, 2011, Taylor and her communications staff visited the class and gave students an overview of the department, its mission and how the logo would be used. They requested a logo that would include both an image and typography.
Students had one week to come up with ideas and one week to refine them, a quick turnaround for such a complex logo design, Murphy said. The department’s mission is to provide and promote safety and permanency for children and youth at risk of abuse, neglect and delinquency.
“The students worked really hard to find the right balance of imagery, color and typography,” Murphy said. “We talked about looking at overused symbols like a heart or a house and revitalizing them and interpreting them in a way that could be unique to DHS.”
On February 1, the students presented their logos to Taylor and Farrell. Of the more than 40 submissions chosen for review, Taylor and Farrell selected five finalists: Kelli Bosko, Christine Quiampang, Joanna Moller and Nicole Willis.
The students presented their designs to DHS leadership and staff on February 16. The commissioner will ultimately select one logo for possible usage or as a springboard to the redesign project.
DHS staff approached Moore last March to see if the project would be a good fit for students. Murphy’s Brand Identity Class focuses on one re-branding project per semester and this project helped the students “get their heads back in the game,” Murphy said.
“We decided it would be a good, short `warm-up’ project to start the winter term,” she said. “It was challenging but the students did a great job.”
"I'm so glad to be part of the DHS logo project," Christine Quiampang said. "Dealing with a real client and their expectations has been a great experience. Being able to go to DHS and present how I came up with ideas for my logos was a real treat!"
