Paul Allen’s bioscience institute gets a refreshingly playful new brand

To rebrand the Allen Institute, designers thought horizontally instead of vertically.

The nonprofit bioscience research institute, founded by Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen to map the human brain, had a perfectly sufficient logo that designer Neville Brody says was “at the heart of everything.” But Brody, a legend in the industry who has designed for Coca-Cola, Nike, and Channel 4, reimagined the Allen Institute’s new identity so “the brand is a platform” for a company’s activities.

Of the elements that comprise a brand...