GR&D LAB

At the Minneapolis College of Art & Design, the graduate graphic design students recently created GR&D LAB (Graphic Research and Development Laboratory). This studio model places a significant emphasis on graphic design research through trans-disciplinary collaboration and participatory methods.

The identity system needed to reflect this emphasis on collaborative research, as well as accommodate the constant flow of students and class structures that would be added every year. As a starting point, the laboratory’s time clock and timecard became the impetus for the graphic system that would eventually represent the lab.

Through the system each student is assigned their own unique logo for personal use, and a comprehensive class logo is formulated from the unification of all individual logos. The laboratory’s logo stays consistent overtime and represents the founding seven members of GR&D Lab.

Design: Brian Wiley & Lauren Thorson