School of Story
A brand identity for an imaginary school devoted to the ancient, fundamentally human art of storytelling.
The Challenge
Coinciding with the 100th anniversary of the Bauhaus, we were challenged to invent our own imaginary art school and deliver a brand identity that expresses its mission and unique potential.
Advised by Ellen Lupton and Jason Gottlieb · Maryland Institute College of Art
Challenged to conceive our own imaginary art school and deliver a comprehensive brand identity, I drew from my own experiences as a student and writer to explore the art of storytelling and its value to artists and designers. The results were displayed in a departmental exhibition in the 4th Floor Brick Gallery at MICA’s Brown Center.
The school
The School of Story is a multimedia institution that teaches students the nuances of story development, consumption, critique, and the complex intersections of fiction within history and society. Storytelling is an ancient practice that is fundamentally human — the glue that binds our culture, chronicles our history, and reflects our course as a society. Across three semesters, students hone their craft, learn thoughtful narrative choices, and gain the conviction to turn brilliant ideas into complex tales.
Identity
Kurt Vonnegut’s controversial master’s thesis in anthropology — the idea “that stories have shapes which can be drawn on graph paper” — served as a visual analogy for narrative structure, and later as a backbone for the logomark and other brand elements.
In building the brand strategy, I aimed to evoke curiosity and compel viewers to fill in their own blanks. Students learn to find storytelling in everything and to use it for cultural impact, and this multimedia approach speaks to telling stories across a variety of mediums — more nuanced approaches that help us make, and discern, better art.
