North Central Special Services District Identity
Brief
In early 2019, Temple embarked on a goodwill initiative to bolster its neighborhood through a strategic partnership with community leaders. University leaders and North Philadelphia locals came together to create the North Central Special Services District (NCSSD) with the mission to address public safety, neighborhood maintenance and beautification, and student impact in the area.
Vision
To support this initiative, I had the opportunity to build a visual identity from the ground up. I prototyped several visual directions that reflect the vibrant North Philadelphia community—its proud rowhomes, musical rhythm, the geometric street grid, and traditional African quilts. Early concepts riffed on the melodic typography of jazz albums and explored rhythmic geometries of North Philly life. As the iterations become more refined, a mark emerged that touched on all of these key themes, while remaining simple and legible.
The final NCSSD logo consists of a series of rectangular forms that reference Philly’s gridded streets that make up the neighborhood, the roofline of its iconic rowhomes, the traditional African prints that resonate with its people, and the musical rhythm of its heartbeat. The typography remains bold and simple, with enough weight to stand up to the blocky mark. The typography and mark can be arranged in several ways, with the elements being scaled in different proportions, or they can be separated and operate independently in many instances; this system allows for maximum flexibility as the district grows
and evolves.
Results
The visual identity became the keystone of the NCSSD launch and a critical tool to energize the community. The logo has been applied to everything from t-shirts and uniform patches to banners and brochures. While the district remains in its infancy, it is expected to become as woven into the fabric of Philadelphia as the University City District and the Center City District. For more on the North Central Special Services District:
