As the foundation for the brand system, we began with the idea of including an asterisk at the end of The 19th's name, symbolizing the “unfinished business” that the 19th amendment left on the table; The 19th team stressed the notion that while the 19th amendment intended to give all women an equal right to vote, many groups remained hindered in their ability to be equal participants in our democracy. While their organization is greatly influenced and inspired by this historic moment in our nation's history, their mission is to address the amendment's shortcomings and bring the topic of women's rights into the present-day.
For the asterisk, we were inspired by the idea that the 19th would be “reporting at the intersection of gender, politics and policy.” The asterisk is built with 3 colored planes, intersecting in a way that creates a dynamic, distinctive symbol that represents the core of their mission. The asterisk serves as the foundation of a broad graphic system for the 19th's identity.
Inspired by the historic document that ratified the 19th amendment, we chose a strong serif typeface (based on Berlingske Serif Black) for the wordmark, one that is modern and distinctive. Berlingske Serif, by Playtype, was created for a Danish newspaper, with specific attention paid to the proportions of the letterforms to maximize readability in the printed paper. This aspect felt particularly appropriate, given the inspiration of the founders as being rooted in the historic physical document.
