Background:
The Holocaust Remembrance Project is a program of the Holland+Knight
Charitable Foundation, Inc - the charitable giving organization
of the Holland+Knight law firm. The project is a national
essay contest for high school students that is designed to
encourage and promote the study of the Holocaust. Participation
in the activity encourages students to think responsibly,
be aware of world conditions that undermine human dignity,
and make decisions that promote the respect and value inherent
in every person. The project serves as a living memorial
to the millions of innocent victims of the Holocaust.
The existing
identity for the Holocaust Remembrance Project seemed depressing,
dark and oppressive to me - especially when printed on a
dark gray T-shirt given to student participants and essay
judges.
BEFORE:
AFTER:
While those descriptive qualities may apply to that particular
period of history, I felt the project identity should be
celebrating those who have overcome the negatives of the
Holocaust to inspire others to live exemplary lives.
The Holocaust
impacted a wide variety of people, not just those of the
Jewish faith. The triangle-shaped uniform badges assigned
to those in the concentration camps were color-coded to identify
the individuals. The color codes were:
• Red: Political prisoners
- including Poles, Czechs and members of the Armed Forces
•
Green: Those considered to be criminals
• Blue: Emigrants
• Yellow: Jews (two triangles were overlapped
to form the Star of David)
• Purple: Jehovah's Witnesses
• Pink: Gay males
• Black: Vagrants, gypsies, and "anti-social" women
(lesbians, prostitutes, women using birth control)
In my initial mental design concept, I felt that those impacted
by the Holocaust should take "ownership" of those
negative identifying triangle symbols. I inverted the geometric
shapes to point to the sky and form colorful rays of a strong,
positive sun image. The result is a graphic identity that
has been given a sense of light, while making use of the
representative colors and projecting an image of honor and
respect in regards to the issue of the Holocaust.
Alina's Feedback:
I found Jeff's redesign fascinating and enlightening. I
love that the logo so successfully emits a positive strength
to the Project's goals of educating people about the Holocaust,
a very dark time in our world's history. I am curious if
the high school students' essays have taken on a different
slant since the implementation of the new logo. I was also
curious how the logo was received by the
schools, students, and general public. Personally, I love
it!
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