Codarts is a Rotterdam-based university of the arts offering professional education in music, dance and circus arts. Its visual identity was created by the Dutch design studio 75B, which designed identities for several cultural institutions including the International Film Festival Rotterdam, Ro Theatre, the Van Abbemuseum and Codarts.[1]
Design and History
The Codarts logo was designed in 2005 by 75B, a Rotterdam-based studio founded in 1997 by Rens Muis and Pieter Vos.[2][3] The mark is documented in a 2018 Designhistory.nl interview with the studio, which identifies it as the logo for the Codarts arts college at Kruisplein in Rotterdam.[3]
In 2021, the Rotterdam design studio Studio Beige was commissioned to restyle the Codarts visual identity. Studio Beige refined the existing logo by adding a non-fixed shadow and adjusting it to fit a new grid system that would support key design elements. The restyle also introduced a new typeface and a new tagline: “Play. Move. Explore. Become. Codarts.”[4]
Meaning and Symbolism
According to the Designhistory.nl interview with 75B, the logo’s horizontal lines are an abstract reference to music, while the vertical lines represent “dance figures.”[3] This dual reference reflects Codarts’ focus on both music and dance education.
Typography and Design
Studio Beige’s 2021 restyle introduced a new typeface for the Codarts identity, which was designed to work in harmony with the new tagline. The studio also left substantial room within the designs for input by students, resulting in what they described as a dynamic identity with a cleaner and younger look and feel.[4]
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