Electric Red’s reductive identity for Gaid University is rooted in accessibility and simplicity

Yegor Gaidar Foundation’s virtual academic project Gaid University looks to hold free, online expert tutorials across Russia; regarding the contemporary economic and social science scene – hoping to be as accessible, publicly fruitful and popular as possible. Working with New York-based design studio Electric Red – founded by Nastya Vishnyakova and Svyat Vishnyakov – they have completed a comprehensive corporate identity that brings together Gaid University’s intentions, as well as providing a future-focused aesthetic that looks to translate growth and improvement. Inspired by what Gaid University are hoping to achieve, and their ensurance for “free access to education for teachers and professionals,” Vishnyakov explains, “we came up with a system and prepared stationery, layouts for online communication and animation for the client.” Due to the university not having an in-house design team, it was crucial for the studio to create something that was developmental and flexible, whilst incredibly easy to understand, implement and format. The system incorporates a dynamic set of shapes, collating a system that has two functions; one to organise space on paper, and the second to formulate interesting compositions through the use of rulers. “All designers know that putting a few words on a sheet can be the hardest,” Vishnyakov tells us, “this is where rulers come to the rescue again, transforming from utilitarian dividers into branded graphics.” The shapes themselves pay homage to the tables, diagrams and graphics found within the university and economic setting, without the result being so restricting. Instead, the result is a system that gives the audience breathing space; an ethereal aesthetic that highlights the distinct structural underpinnings without being brusque.