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Elliott Moody
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Mubien’s sharp identity for the Fenway Center draws on Boston’s symbolism and architecture


Mubien’s sharp identity for the Fenway Center draws on Boston’s symbolism and architecture
Mubien’s sharp identity for the Fenway Center draws on Boston’s symbolism and architecture
Mubien’s sharp identity for the Fenway Center draws on Boston’s symbolism and architecture
Mubien’s sharp identity for the Fenway Center draws on Boston’s symbolism and architecture
Mubien’s sharp identity for the Fenway Center draws on Boston’s symbolism and architecture
Mubien’s sharp identity for the Fenway Center draws on Boston’s symbolism and architecture

Located in Boston, Massachusetts, the Fenway Center is a state-of-the-art building project consisting of extensive laboratory, office and retail spaces, as well as public pathways and amenities. Initiated to repair the divide in the public realm caused by the Massachusetts Turnpike (Mass Pike) toll highway, the development is being built on a special podium next to the Boston Red Sox’s iconic Fenway Park stadium; also the inspiration for its name.

Commissioned to create the Fenway Center’s visual identity amid its planning and construction, Santander and California-based design agency Mubien sought inspiration from the building itself and its place in the city. “The colour palette is inspired by the colours and materials of the building,” Mubien tell us, with the green coming “directly from the building” as well as the iconic 37-foot left-field wall of the Red Sox’s stadium popularly known as the ‘Green Monster.’ On the other hand, the orange is “extracted from the emblematic red bricks of Boston,” resulting in a more general homage to Massachusetts’ capital city.

An integral part of the Fenway Center’s identity system is the ‘FC’ monogram, for which Mubien once again pulled inspiration from the Boston Red Sox; using their pointed pennant’s triangular form as a starting point. “The symbol is simple but has a really strong concept packed in its shapes,” Mubien tell us, explaining that its counter forms contain two additional concepts – “on the top, the red bricks, and on the bottom, the shape of the building.”

Mubien’s typographic choice for the project was a straightforward one as they adopted the sans serif from IQHQ, the property company behind the development of the Fenway Center. Designed by Russian type design studio TypeType and named TT Firs Neue, the typeface is bold and quirky, triumphantly declaring the building’s name across the full width of billboards and posters; while being effortlessly subservient to its surrounding content. It again references the building’s architecture through its squared characters such as its ‘A’ and proves to be a fitting accomplice to the ‘FC’ monogram’s block-like construction.

Graphic Design

Mubien

Typography

TT Firs by TypeType

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