Imagine what the world has yet to see.
A look into the KCAI brand story.
Logo
A great brand mark tells a story. Our brand mark translates our story into a bold, visual language. This is greater than a single logo – it is an active identity system with endless adaptations. Our core mark, built on a 4X4 grid, is the cornerstone of the system. It is a balanced display of structure and versatility and can be creatively expressed to communicate the complexities of the college and the range of our academic and programmatic offerings. Each application of the mark has three squares of the grid removed. The three removed squares, or revealed blocks, serve as a visual motif that can connect the specific mark in a piece.
Logo As Gallery
When the blocks within our mark aren’t black or white, they act as a gallery to showcase artwork from our students. This is a uniquely powerful characteristic within our flexible identity system. When implemented correctly, this application sparks curiosity, evokes imagination and shows the fearless art created through KCAI. This function allows the students to truly see themselves in KCAI.
Color Philosophy
Walk into any studio in KCAI and you’re likely to see a palette covered in acrylic paint, various Pantone swatches, a colorful flood of fiber, glossy glazes and more. As artists and designers, we eat, sleep and breathe colors. But our work is created through bare sheets of paper, clean linen canvases, unnamed files and empty memory cards. These items all share one thing in common: blank space. It is in this void where art, design, words and ideas find life. For these reasons, our primary colors are black and white, representing our future filled with creative potential.
Our secondary palette represents our rich history, our roots in Kansas City, where we’ve resided since 1885. This color palette is pulled directly from the historic Vanderslice Hall, a hub for activity that echoes significance across campus including our brand identity. Vanderslice is a red hue pulled from the foundational bricks and Patina is taken from the oxidized teal seen delicately adorning the mansion. Detail, a deep emerald slate, and Limestone, a warm beige, are used as contrasting balances of color.