In 1995, Smack Mellon’s founding artists envisioned an organization that would provide resources for women artists, who had historically been excluded from opportunities. Over the past thirty years, we’ve presented countless artists’ first solo exhibitions in NYC, connected high school students with artist mentors, and provided free studio space and critical resources–all rare opportunities for artists to grow their practices outside the pressures of the commercial art market.
As we approached our 30th anniversary, we reached out to our DUMBO neighbors at Team, a strategy and design studio, whose continued partnership helped us bring our brand vision to life. The opportunity to design a bold new brand identity offered us the chance to both reflect on our 30 year history and reaffirm our mission as we envision our future.
Inspired by Smack Mellon’s role as a place of creative transformation, our new brand takes inspiration from a “creative chrysalis”: a space where artists can freely take risks, experiment, and innovate. Team designed a custom logo that nests the two “L”s of “Mellon” together—an homage to our unconventional name and a visual embodiment of the chrysalis concept. The visual system uses type expressively, framing artwork and information in unexpected ways that challenge convention, echoing the creative freedom we seek to provide our artists. A bold new red anchors our identity, representing our passion for creativity and our neighborhood. As a nod to our DUMBO home, layouts are set at a subtle 3.5° tilt, referencing the off-kilter geometry of its historic streets.
The result is creative, expressive, and unmistakably Smack Mellon–a brand identity that celebrates 30 years of supporting artists’ creative practices, with a refreshed energy for our next 30.