Dario Calmese and The Institute of Black Imagination has opened a space in the Oculus that hit pause on my experience as a black designer. The space instantly stops me in my tracks; it simultaneously expands and collapses my consciousness. When asked what we wish for the space… my list keeps orbiting around this notion:
Mirroring - In between a mirror - Staying in between.
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[In-progress] I jotted down some personal thoughts comparing patterns I have observed for creative work. Of course my experience has limitations and probably includes some over-generalizations that I would want to spend more time scrutinizing and improving on.

The strong and simple lines of the block "M" logo offer a bold silhouette and structure to reinforce the U-M brand in busy environments. The impact is effective from a distance and close up—in both digital and print signage.

The logo area has ample room to hold primary content and information. It also creates negative space that can hold secondary visuals (or animation) that give context for the vicinity.

I imagined how the signature block "M" for U-M might serve as a "made by" signature. The result is an understated and elegant tab with the tagline "Made in Michigan", alluding to U-M as a place where the world's best gather to make themselves—and the world—better. The tagline also hails to the industrial heritage inherent to Michigan, the university's home state.

*Note: Photographs are property of University of Michigan Photography.

Key pillars of the University of Michigan brand could be described as: global reach, diversity, world-class prestige, undying heritage and spirit—spanning generations. It brings to mind the word "Monumental".

I imagined the iconic block "M" logo, with its powerful and simple stance, being treated as a larger-than-life monument/shape in a variety of cities, hailing the global influences of U-M beyond its main campuses.

As a form factor, rectangles are time-tested over generations of interactive wisdom. Circular devices are often impractical and overly-symetric for intuitive usage (à la the 1998 puck-shaped iMac mouse). But I still couldn't resist this conceptual exercise; a bigger challenge would likely be conceiving an effective UI for a polar-coordinate based view.