Housed at the State University of New York at Oswego, where four times more snow falls on our city than Manhattan, Subnivean publishes three issues per year: one in fall, one in spring, one in summer. Their hardworking SUNY undergraduate staff is dedicated to bringing their audience high-caliber content amid the internet's clamoring chaos.

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Ask

Create a unique brand and website that looks and feels completely different from other online journals.

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Solution

This definition became my guide for creating the brand.

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Definition

sub·niv·e·an | \ ¦Səb¦nivēən \

Adj: situated or transpiring under the snow

Noun: a subnivean zone offering warmth and shelter

Noun: a SUNY Oswego publication elevating and amplifying high-caliber prose and poetry

 

I paired a serif and sans serif typeface to create layers. Like an iceberg or the subnivean zone, the lock-up visually represents the word. The horizontal stacked version of the logo is like the subnivean zone itself with more happening below than above.

 

Most literary journals are that same utilizing white backgrounds and colorful imagery to bring life to their site in between the literary content. To stand out among other journals I added abstract backgrounds at grayscale throughout the site to provide texture, depth and richness which reflects the contents of each issue.

 

2021 Firecracker Award

Nominee for Best Debut