Founded in New York City in 1993 by two writers Jeff Fligelman and David Grae, Gotham Writers’ Workshop has since grown into one of the nation’s largest adult education writing schools offering both private and online classes in every genre, from fiction to screenplays to poetry to memoirs. After 20 years, however, Gotham felt it was time to move from a more generic-looking logotype to a customized brand identity.

Brooklyn-based design studio Hyperakt was asked to evolve the brand to give it greater presence. After conducting in-depth research, Hyperakt distilled the essence of the brand message to “craft igniting creativity.” To better represent the scope of Gotham’s offering of online classes and events, Hyperakt recommended that the name be shortened to “Gotham Writers,” dropping the word “Workshop” completely. “The shift better represents the school’s community of writers and promotes a sense of belonging,”

According to Hyperakt’s website, “Gotham Writers’ new mark says more with less. The interlocking “G” and “W” reveal the tip of a pencil, suggesting the craft and meditation at the heart of good writing….The geometric purity of the forms are an homage to the art deco heritage of the city we call Gotham – New York City.”

To contrast the crisp, simple lines of the logo with the unique voice of each writer, Hyperakt introduced various handwriting styles as the secondary typeface. “The brand includes highlighter marks to illuminate key ideas, alluding to the process of editing and iterating involved in perfecting a well-crafted piece of writing.” These elements provided the hierarchical structure for an graphic identity program that can be applied to online and print course catalogs and other communication materials.