Mickalene Thomas
New Visual Identity for Studio Mickalene
Mickalene Thomas, who lives and works in Brooklyn, NY, is an artist renowned for her bold and striking paintings, collages, photography, video and installations.
Drawing on both art history and popular culture, her work redefines female sexuality, beauty and power through a contemporary lens, with a particular focus on celebrating Black femininity.
This duality—finding beauty in unexpected places—comes through in the Studio Mickalene branding, which we designed to reflect her vision and ethos. Studio Mickalene is a collaborative entity, working with varied partners, with Mickalene at the helm.
The core elements of the Mickalene Thomas brand are feminine, alluring and sophisticated. To reflect this we experimented with many different typefaces before landing on a typography that is large and expressive. It commands attention and also speaks to a refined elegance that feels fitting for the brand.
The type is paired with an elegant, curvy, feminine aesthetic, which aligns with the themes Mickalene explores in her work. A simplistic, minimalistic form is used here to complement the type, and be a versatile logomark for Studio Mickalene to use in a variety of ways.
We wanted to use a bold and striking colour scheme, opting for a tonal black and off-white palette, which builds a sense of subtle power. This minimalistic, bold colour choice reflects the contrasts present in Mickalene’s work—the balance between light and dark, grit and beauty.
As Mickalene says:
"I like finding beauty in the grit, in the darkness – they go hand in hand. It’s a form of survival, and I’d like to reflect that in my art."
Creating a visual identity that reflected Mickalene’s artistic journey felt crucial to this brief. We believe that is achieved here, bringing together these elements to form a visual identity that’s striking, iconic and synonymous with Mickalene Thomas.