Originally published January 31, 2022

Digital Humanities at SJSU is gaining momentum with forward-thinking initiatives like the Digital Humanities Center, Deep Humanities and Arts, Humanities & Arts in San José, and countless faculty research projects. As a part of our work to bring continuity to these different initiatives across campus, the SJSU King Library Marketing Team and the College of Humanities & Arts (H&A) Marketing and Communications worked together to create a digital humanities logo.

We are excited to present the DH logo, a versatile and dynamic logo that articulates what digital humanities means to SJSU and beyond and communicates future work in this area.

Digital Humanities @ SJSU

Collaboration

The SJSU King Library and H&A Marketing Teams worked closely with visual communications and design team members of SJSU Strategic Communications and Marketing (SCM), who provided valuable contributions and consultation for the creation of the DH logo.

Ideation

The SJSU King Library and H&A Marketing Teams led the ideation process with three important questions:

  1. What does digital humanities mean?
  2. How will it grow and evolve at SJSU?
  3. How can we visually represent a broad and evolving discipline, while keeping the San José State University brand at its core?

To address these questions, each team developed designs and discussed the best ways to meet the goals presented. Visual representations of artificial intelligence, coding, robotics, circuit boards, algorithms, and human traits were all illustrated and proposed.

“It was a true collaboration and great to see both teams, especially the student assistants, involved in bouncing ideas back and forth to create a logo we all can be proud of,” observed Lesley Seacrist, project and communication manager of the SJSU King Library.

Creation

The teams continued the discussion and design process while inviting the SJSU SCM visual communications and design team to propose their own designs. Ultimately, through many rounds of collaboration and modifications, the team created a pitch deck of three potential designs to show the leadership teams.

DHC alternate logos

However, one design stood out from the rest early in the creation process. A simple interconnection of the letters “D” and “H” symbolizing the connection between the digital and human. The beveled squares are reminiscent of pixels on a screen, and a clean, modern font complements the three-layered grid. Its versatile design can transform into many iterations both in color and program.

“It’s our hope that this design can serve as a solid foundation and point of inspiration for our faculty, staff, students, and community to build upon as we explore the world of Digital Humanities.” shared Derick Truong, Student Intern Coordinator, College of Humanities and the Arts.

We are thrilled to present the DH logo and look forward to seeing it represent all the different work in digital humanities at SJSU.