Our Logo
In 1987, preparations for Krannert Center’s 20th anniversary were underway, and the design for what would be today’s current Krannert Center logo was being conceived by Mark Enomoto, a graphic designer for the Center at the time and later promoted to art director. As his inspiration for a logo concept developed, Enomoto made notes on his early sketches that helped focus his vision: What is the most kinetic aspect of the audience? > Clapping. Applause = good performance. Percussive > Repetition. Krannert applauds your support.
Beginning with four clapping hands and 20 fingers representing Krannert Center’s 20 years, his sketches evolved into five hands that represented the Center’s five theatres with just four fingers showing—thumbs folded under—thus retaining the 20-year theme. As Enomoto's logo design evolved, the fingers became stripes, and he described the final artwork in this way:
The mark uses 20 stripes to represent 20 years, and each of the groups of stripes represents the five theatres that are in the Center. Each of the groups of stripes represents a hand which can be linked to applause for 20 years or support for the Center.
The whole mark is anthropomorphic in nature—sort of like someone jumping in the air or a child. The Center is still in its youth?
When appreciating the 20-year/five-theatre theme of the logo, you will also note that in the center of the logo, the five venues are joined by a heart. The heart and the arrow in the top-right corner of the logo are both byproducts of rotating the clapping hands with each iteration of the logo design.
Krannert Center's wordmark incorporates the logo and was originally set in the typeface Palatino. In 2009, the font was updated to its current Kautiva Uni Book.
