The IIT College of Architecture’s legacy is rooted in modernist principles championed by Mies van der Rohe and upheld in Crown Hall, where students explore big ideas and practical applications of design. Led by partner Bud Rodecker, Span crafted a graphic identity system that honors this legacy while propelling the college toward future innovation.

Central to the identity are two key typefaces: Neue Galerie, a digital revival of Mies van der Rohe’s original “Allzweck” drawings, and The Future, a contemporary take on Futura, historically used at IIT in the 1940s. These typographic choices ground the brand in both heritage and forward-thinking, mirroring the school’s balance of conceptual and hands-on approaches.

Supporting elements—like a refined color palette, modernist grid structures, and flexible layouts—reinforce IIT’s ethos of “shut up and build.” Through a visual system that is humble yet meticulously crafted, the new identity underscores IIT’s commitment to shaping architects who bring transformative ideas to life.

For more information on the IIT College of Architecture rebrand, see the case studies about Span’s complete visual identity and Span’s website design.

For their fifteenth full-length release, The Avett Brothers came to us to design a layered visual experience that embodies the deeply personal and calmly existential collection of songs that make up their eponymous album. The design articulates a pattern language that frames the band’s exploration of spirituality, intimacy, and rootedness. We turned to the complex, contemplative diagrams and charts of ancient gnosticism and hermeticism for initial inspiration. From there, we expanded our range of influences to poetry, and the band’s own deeply place-based (and significantly rural Southern) lineages.

This led to a rich, detail-oriented typographic palette that references literature, mystical diagrams, and vintage religious texts to create a textural atmosphere that is at once storied and contemporary.

Garamond Premier, Adobe’s version of the serif all-star, carries the suite’s body copy and titles, setting a sophisticated, literary tone that avoids coming across as stuffy or antiquated. Out of the Dark’s Syncro Italic, Rokha (W Type Foundry) and Dédale (205TF) are used as complementary fonts from the LP jacket interior diagram to the lyric “poetry” chapbook for their strong character and classical references.

A flexible website supports the album release, combining the contemplative, bookish atmosphere of band’s off-road lives with the invigorating energy of their live performances. Its typography takes a more modern, evergreen approach, with SwissPosters by newglyph and The Future (Klim Type Foundry) contrasting Garamond Première.

[More info on Discogs]

Chicago’s new public park, South Side Sanctuary, revitalizes an unused parcel of land in the historic Bronzeville neighborhood. Founded by The Nascent Group, an innovative developer with a diverse community of creatives, South Side Sanctuary transforms a vacant lot into a vibrant public park aimed at uniting and uplifting community members of all ages. Span collaborated with the founders to craft a dynamic visual identity that captures the essence and energy of the park.

The spirited visual identity designed by Span reflects the form, expression, and movement in South Side Sanctuary’s intentionally inclusive architecture and the diverse activities of its visitors. Unlike most parks, South Side Sanctuary is built for pedestrians, skateboarders, roller-skaters, bicyclists, and wheelchair users alike. The custom logotype showcases uniquely crafted letterforms that echo the geometry of the architecture and site plan. Designed for versatility, these letterforms can be oriented vertically for the beacon sign or horizontally for traditional applications, they also seamlessly uniting to form both a cross and an X. The bespoke stencil letterforms pay homage to Chicago artist Apache Wakefield’s historic Bronzeville bench, while the uppercase letters with descenders underscore the park uniqueness.

Span’s eclectic color palette was inspired by the park’s surroundings. Purple and green hues reflect the native-plant landscaping, while pink and teal come from nearby businesses. The Bronze tone is drawn from the four nearby statues that designate the area as Chicago's Blues District center. Additionally, historic and site-specific photographs from the Chicago History Museum’s Street Scenes on East 47th Street collection were selected by Future Firm, Span brought these images back to life with the identity’s distinctive color pairings. Throughout its extended visual language, the supportive typography utilizes expressive setting and the avant-garde alternates of The Future by Klim Type Foundry to maintain an expressive and angular character.

South Side Sanctuary was established through the Public Outdoor Plaza (POP!) program, a part of Mayor Johnson’s ongoing commitment to invest in Chicago. These plazas empower community-based organizations to revitalize underutilized land for recreation, performances, pop-up shops, gardening, and other neighborhood activities. The team at South Side Sanctuary, led by founders Cecilia Cuff and Jasmine Anwuli, architects Future Firm, and Nichole Humphry of Black Girls Shred, transformed a vacant lot into a hub for gathering, growth, and community engagement within Bronzeville, historically an area lacking in investment.

The book cover design for Karl Marx's Capital: Critique of Political Economy, Volume 1, translated by Paul Reitter and edited by Reitter and Paul North. It is due to be published by Princeton University Press in September 2024. Description from the Princeton University Press website is as follows:

This magnificent new edition of Capital is a translation of Marx for the twenty-first century. It is the first translation into English to be based on the last German edition revised by Marx himself, the only version that can be called authoritative, and it features extensive commentary and annotations by Paul North and Paul Reitter that draw on the latest scholarship and provide invaluable perspective on the book and its complicated legacy.

The cover design was created in-house by senior book designer Chris Ferrante. The main title and author are set in Atlantic by MCKL Type Foundry. Atlantic was designed by Jeremy Mickel with assistance from Douglas Hayes for the redesign of The Atlantic in 2019. The typeface was further expanded in 2022 and is available as a beta typeface. The supporting sans serif type is set in The Future by Klim Type Foundry.

Ferrante notes he chose Atlantic as the title typeface since it was based on specimens from 1857 and Das Kapital was published in 1867 and thus felt historically appropriate.

12″ vinyl art for Avi Granite, a NYC-based, Canadian born experimental jazz musician. The Future Light and Bold used throughout.