Open Lunar:
Brand Identity
Completed: Feb of 2020
SERVICESBrand Strategy
Logo & Identity System
Website Design
Messaging & Copy
Collaborators
Designing a home for humanity on the moon
The Open Lunar Foundation is a non-profit organization working to bring about an internationally-cooperative, non-corporatized settlement on the moon.
I worked with their founding team of astronauts, aerospace engineers, planetary scientists, and civic organizers to clearly define their mission and vision, and then extend it into a beautiful visual identity system and website.
Identity Exploration
After leading the organization through my brand strategy process, I partnered with Jessica Strelioff to develop four unique identity concepts that conveyed the mission and personality of the foundation.
The primary challenge was finding imagery that could transform the moon from a cold and lifeless place into a place we could imagine building a home.
Logo Exploration
The moon is one of humanity’s most treasured and ancient symbols, and also one of the most ubiquitous. So we explored more than a hundred potential logos (here are a few), looking for something that is both unique and universal.
Identity System
The selected identity system, nicknamed Horizons, is all about bringing the organization’s vision into focus, and to make the aspiration of a lunar habitat feel real.
It didn’t feel right to show photorealistic renders of moon habitats, because the details of those would change, and the moon is a dark and desolate place. Instead, the imagery has a slightly fuzzy and ethereal quality, as if we’re seeing the moon through a dream.
This imagery felt right for this phase of the organization, but we also extended the system with photo frames and stylized blueprints, for when things got more real.
♥
"A much-needed and well-run process."
Chris Hadfield
ISS Astronaut & Open Lunar Founder