Commonwealth Pier Campus
In 2024, Boston’s landmark World Trade Center was transformed into Commonwealth Pier, a property owned by Pembroke in the heart of the city’s rapidly evolving Seaport District.
The location offers unprecedented access to the city’s waterfront, accessible from all areas of the city. It required a contemporary visual identity program that would celebrate the property, honor its legacy, and connect with audiences from across the region.
One Design created Seaport Sans, a family of modular display typefaces inspired by the architecture of the campus properties.
SSPier takes inspiration from turn-of-the-century architectural elements found throughout the pier structure that stretches out into Boston Harbor. The building has industrial origins, originally functioning as a railway shipping hub. The bespoke modular typeface draws inspiration from the ornate trusses and columns unearthed during its renovation.
SSHotel and SSTower are variants that embrace decorative architectural motifs from the newer hotel and office tower properties found on the mainland.
Staff Wide from R-Typography is used throughout the system as a functional anchor, embracing its no-nonsense, utilitarian aesthetic to link the property’s communal future with its functional roots in Boston’s industrial past.
The color palette exists in harmony with the tones of the Atlantic Ocean and the broader eastern seaboard.
Branding applications for the Seaport Hotel, a hospitality destination on the Commonwealth Pier campus
Commonwealth Pier social media
Construction barrier signage for Pembroke Properties, utilized during property renovations
Seaport Sans extensions for campus wayfinding and iconography
Historical research into the property’s industrial roots revealed structural patterns, that served as visual influence for Seaport Sans.
Seaport Sans, a modular display typeface inspired by the industrial trusses found throughout Commonwealth Pier during renovation
Seaport Sans: a modular display typeface for the Commonwealth Pier property and campus
Seaport Sans, in all of its modular expressive glory
Unique variants of Seaport Sans were developed for adjacent properties on the campus. Architectural elements of each building inspired the variants, such as the circular motif found on the exterior of the Seaport Hotel.
Seaport Sans Hotel (SSHotel), inspired by the architectural motifs found on the exterior of the Seaport Hotel.
Various applications featuring SSHotel
Seaport Hotel applications
