October 16, 2011 – Formal launch of the SUTD-internal logo design competition
Ten SUTD students submitted design concepts, each entry including a logo mark, logo type and tagline, as follows:
AMOS CHIA
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JESSIE TANG
ROGER ONG
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ANDREW TOH
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LEON CHER & HANSON JIE
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RACHEL KUHR
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SURESH NAIDU
TO KIEN
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WANG LIYUAN
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XIAO DING YUAN
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December 9, 2011 – Announcement of Competition winners & Award Session
All entries were reviewed by the IDC co-Directors and the winning logo selection was a combination of a logo by Leon Cher and Hanson Jie and a tagline by Xiao Ding Yuan. The prize money was generously contributed by the IDC co-Directors and Prof Pey Kin Leong.
The Design Rationale behind the “THE IMPOSSIBLE D”
The main graphic element in this logo is inspired by the “Impossible Figures” of Swedish artist Oscar Reutersvärd. It takes visual cues from the SUTD and MIT logo – strong, bold and innovative, while being practical at the same time.
A seemingly impossible problem can be solved, by recognizing the need to view it from a different perspective. This symbolizes the open-minded and creative nature of the IDC.
At first glance, the “Big D” is immediately apparent. This puts the spotlight on design, upon which SUTD’s research and education is anchored.
Upon closer inspection, the letters “I”, “D” and “C” can be observed. The unconventional arrangement and non-linear integration of the letters alludes to the symbiotic nature of research and education.
The compact disposition of the logo also represents resource optimization.
The logo has mathematical and artistic facets to it. Mathematics and the Arts are universal and integral to the fields of Engineering and Architecture – just as important in tackling the “Grand Challenges” of the IDC design projects.
February 12, 2015 – IDC Logo Survey
In February of 2015, the SUTD-MIT International Design Centre explored a design refresh of the IDC logo. A subsequent online survey on potential graphic design variants to the current logo demonstrated the continued popularity of the ‘The Impossible D’ IDC logo and resulted ultimately in the implementation of a new tag line, “Innovation Ready Design”, to more concisely reflect the primary motivation and objective in our quest to advance Design Research, Design Science and Design Practice.
