Novum Features CCNY's 170th Anniversary Branding

10/28/2017 Unknown 0 Comments


This month’s issue of novum features the amazing branding work that celebrates The City College of New York's 170th anniversary. Inspired by BICsters Marta Mugica, Rocío Rivera Iglesias, and Namrata Kupte-Jadhav  (BIC '17) and designed by BIC Professor Gerardo Blumenkrantz and BIC Board Member Gustavo Stecher along with his team at menos es mas, the comprehensive effort was unveiled at the annual Presidential Awards Gala which took place in May 2017 in The Great Hall. 

The article highlights the way in which the branding reflects City College’s unique heritage and visionary mission: 

“Since its very beginnings, CCNY has stood for open access to education and equal opportunities. The college, nicknamed the ‘poor man’s Harvard’ is proud to have ten Nobel Prize winners among its graduates who, like many students today, were children from humble family backgrounds and the first in their families to attend university. The old visual identity however did not suitably convey the core values of progress, inclusion and innovation and so the college leadership, on the occasion of the college’s 170th anniversary, decided to rebrand. Students and faculty of CCNY’s Branding + Integrated Communications Graduate Program (BIC) joined together with the menos es mЗs design bureau to create a visual identity that would unite values, tradition and progressivity. Together with the students, the Buenos Aires-based designers set off in search of a symbol that might suitably represent the college...”


First published in 1924, novum is known around the globe as a leading and influential design magazine. Each month this bilingual journal presents the very best in graphic design, illustration, photo-design, corporate design, paper, packaging, advertising and typography. novum also spotlights new talents and the latest trends. For over 90 years novum has been providing professionals with an inspiring mix of international graphic design and advertising, and it also delivers a unique haptic experience in terms of an exciting array of cover materials and treatments.


BIC is proud to be recognized by novum, especially for this project which spotlights CCNY as well as BIC’s cross-disciplinary and collaborative approach to projects. We applaud the combined efforts of BIC students and faculty along with the brilliance of BIC Board Member Gustavo Stecher and his entire team at menos es mas. Thanks also to the vision of CCNY President Vince Boudreau and Senior Advisor Dee Dee Mozeleski.


To see the full project, link HERE to the menos es mas site. Watch the logo come to life in this video.