Dynamic Identity for Muscat, Oman
I was given an assignment to create a new visual identity for a city. I decided on Muscat. This is a city I knew nothing about, so I thought it was a good way to challenge myself and make something in a new style and learn about a new city and the capital city of Oman. Before starting the project, I didn't know much about the city, so I researched its geography, nature, architecture, culture, and people to get a better understanding of it.
I was particularly drawn to the architecture and Islamic patterns of Muscat, and I found them to be a source of inspiration for my design. However, I wanted to give a modern twist to these traditional elements. Therefore, I selected the most iconic buildings and drew them using simple lines to capture their form and keep the overall design minimalistic.
To create a pattern that resembled the Islamic geometric designs found all over Muscat, I used my hand-drawn illustrations. Although my drawings were not geometric, I made some rules to make the pattern look uniform and geometric. This contrasted nicely with the organic shapes found in nature and the structured architecture in the city. I also found out the shapes with closed forms worked better, so I did not use the last drawing above (the drawing of the room).
I also picked colors from nature in and around Muscat and added green and red from the Omani flag to create a color palette.
I received feedback regarding my design, which suggested that it looked quite European. Despite incorporating colors from the city, the minimalistic and simple look did not accurately represent the warm and vibrant color palette seen in Muscat's pictures. To address this issue, I experimented by adding colorfill to my drawings, allowing for overlapping and creating deeper, more vibrant colors.
I found the new pattern I created to be more interesting and versatile. Adding a colored background helped create a warmer and more inviting feel, while the pattern's ability to be scaled up or down allowed for different expressions. It could be made very noticeable and intense or more subdued and in the background.
To ensure the colorful pattern remained the focus, I wanted a simple logo. By filling the shapes I had drawn with black, the logo complements the pattern without taking away from it. Additionally, the logo helps people understand that the pattern is made up of buildings, encouraging people to explore and identify the structures in the pattern.
Here is the style tile I created for the identity:
Examples of how it could appear when implemented in real-life:
