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Sanctuary Computer

MIT-IBM

Visual identity for the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab.

Brief

Create a new visual identity for the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab in Cambridge that highlights the partnership between the two organizations.

Solution

We took the horizontal bars from the original IBM (“8-bar”) logo and the vertical bars of the MIT logo and normalized them to the same line-weight. That revealed a shared connection point at the horizontal bar of the “T” in MIT, which became the foundation of the visual system.

Tools

Services

Industries

Project Links

mitibmwatsonailab.mit.edu
Diagram showing how the horizontal bars from the IBM 8-bar logo and the vertical bars of the MIT logo combine to form the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab mark.

When the bars of the two logos are normalized to the same line-weight the connection point becomes visible: the horizontal bar of the “T” in the MIT logo.

The color palette is derived from the meeting point of IBM’s blue and MIT’s red. From there we make a spectrum of colors based on the in-between states.

MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab color palette: a vertical spectrum of horizontal bars transitioning from IBM’s blue to MIT’s red on a black background.
The brand in action: presentation slide
The brand in action: presentation poster
Open spread of the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab Member Booklet, with pinstripe-patterned pages reading ‘Small Data’ and ‘Many Domains’.
Screenshot of the MIT-IBM image processor desktop app showing a 3D scene rendered as pixelated red, blue, and white blocks.
Animation of the MIT-IBM mark slowly drawing itself from horizontal bars to vertical bars in a blue-to-magenta gradient on a black background.

Building Images from Pixels

To create unique imagery we made a desktop app that processes photos using pixels based on the visual elements.

Grid of pixelated MIT-IBM imagery showing simplified shapes (a sphere, a chess piece, a guitar) reconstructed in blocks of brand color.
MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab homepage with the headline ‘AI science for real-world impact’ and a row of pixelated brand visuals.
Stylized corner of the MIT-IBM mark stamped in brand-gradient bars in the bottom-right corner of a black layout.
MIT-IBM layout grid built from the mark, with horizontal and vertical lines fading from blue to magenta forming structural columns and rows.

The mark stretches to fill spaces and forms the grid for structuring content for elements like posters, collateral, website, and more.

Cover of the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab brand guidelines, showing the mark stamped in brand-gradient bars on a black background.
Grid of MIT-IBM category illustrations in pixelated brand-color blocks: an audio waveform, a cone, a sphere, abstract scenes, and silhouetted shapes.
Printed MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab poster on a wall, showing a triangular brand-gradient bar composition on a black background.
MIT-IBM business cards: a black card with the brand bars and a white card with David Cox’s contact details in MIT red and IBM blue.
MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab conference wall covered in repeating brand-bar patterns with the words ‘Neural’, ‘Symbolic’, and ‘AI’ set in the bars.
iPhone screen showing an MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab Instagram filter that overlays a face in pixelated brand-color blocks.
Branded MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab water bottle, matte black with the brand bars and wordmark in a blue-to-magenta gradient.
Pixelated illustration of a pizza slice rendered in MIT-IBM blue brand pixels for the lab’s Internapalooza event.

Related Work