Anybody out there?

By Maks Fus Mickiewicz 07 : 04 : 2017 The Partners : Post-language Typography : Branding

London – Design firm The Partners has created an extraterrestrial brand identity for scientific research body METI International.

The font, which is designed to represent scientific and mathematical data, is inspired by binary code and simple graphic pictograms
Designers are examining the potential of typography to overcome language barriers

Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence (METI) is a scientific research body dedicated to exploring the possibility of life beyond Earth.

Inspired by the Arecibo message, a 1974 interstellar radio message that beamed basic information about Earth into space, the visual identity features binary patterns on a square gridthat can be moved around to create different words, and is designed to stand out from the sector’s more traditional branding.

‘‘Messaging’ means discussing, composing and communicating,’ says Katherina Tudball, design director at The Partners. ‘This unique graphic language is a way for the organisation to communicate its unique mission – asking big, human questions and saying ‘hello’ to the universe.’

The Big Picture

A new generation of designers are creating living letterforms that mimic emotions and architectural design cues to transcend verbal language. Read our Post-language Typography microtrend to find out more.