To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of Tisch School of the Arts at NYU, I worked with the Dean and her team to create a mark for the occasion. The logo needed to evoke prestige and give a sense of accomplishment, looking to the past while focusing on the future. It had to work with the current NYU Tisch branding and be applied to various materials — the anniversary culminating with a gala event. The final mark is a rhythmic circle that subtly hints at its past and purpose, while focusing on its anniversary number.

The challenge was working with a large amount of text while maintaining a minimalistic and cohesive design. By using the repetition of the circle in 50 for the outer text I was able to frame the year, mimicking a lens as a nod to Tisch’s history in filmmaking. The circular design allowed for easy application on the website, window decals, and the school’s gala event. For added variety and nuance, historical images from the school were used in the negative space of the zero in 50 and for background imagery.