The German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) is receiving a new visual identity. The redesign marks a significant milestone in the visual identity of Germany’s leading industry-oriented AI institute, which is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year. The modernized corporate design, along with a new logo, was introduced to the employees today during an internal event. It will now be gradually implemented across all of the institute’s communication channels.
With its new visual identity, the DFKI meets the requirements for a contemporary and universally applicable design. The centerpiece is the new logo, which is modern yet clear and timeless. In contrast to the original word-image mark, the newly developed logo is set in lowercase letters. The right-aligned typographic arrangement connects it with an “ai” placed underneath, emphasizing the institute’s international orientation.
Prof. Dr. Antonio Krüger, CEO of DFKI, said: “I am delighted that we can now communicate the success and ongoing development of DFKI both internally and externally through an intelligent and modern corporate design. The new design not only celebrates our 35 years of experience in human-centered AI research, but also embodies core company values such as internationality, diversity, and social responsibility,not to mention the fascination for working in this groundbreaking field. Thanks to its flexibility, it caters to the diversity of our locations and topics as well as our various target groups.”
A key objective of the new corporate design is to unify the visual identity of DFKI, not only in its external appearance but also internally, in order to strengthen cohesion among employees and enhance their identification with the company. A particular challenge lies in achieving design harmony among the currently 28 research departments, which are spread across four locations, two labs, and two branch offices throughout Germany. The new design adopts an open and inclusive approach towards the structural units and brands of DFKI. It provides a tool that clearly conveys DFKI affiliation and is also flexible for individual communication needs. This includes, among other things, the introduction of research department-specific logos, where the new logo is complemented with the names of the individual departments.
Prof. Dr. Gesche Joost, Head of the DFKI research department Design Research eXplorations and Project Leader of the AG Corporate Design, says: “The new corporate design reflects our international orientation and the beginning of a new era – with the interplay between KI and AI, the elegant typography, and the wide range of colors. The design is thus contemporary and can be used in various media communication formats – from print to Instagram, from hoodies to the company logo at the headquarters in Kaiserslautern.”
The design principle of the new design is characterized by layering, interlocking elements, architectural aesthetics, and clear messages, such as quotes. IBM Plex Sans, combined with IBM Plex Mono, is used as the house font. These open-source fonts blend naturalness with technology, exuding a modern feel, and are characterized by good readability.
The development and implementation of the new visual identity was significantly led by the Communications & Media team under the guidance of Prof. Gesche Joost, Annemarie Popp, and Swantje Schmidt in collaboration with the Bremen-based agency GfG / Gruppe für Gestaltung. With the roll-out commencing on November 10, 2023, a comprehensive transition phase spanning several months will begin, during which the new design elements will be introduced step by step.
About the DFKI:
The German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) has operated as a non-profit, Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) since 1988. Today, it maintains sites in Kaiserslautern, Saarbrücken, Bremen, Niedersachsen, laboratories in Berlin and Darmstadt, as well as branches in Lübeck and Trier.
DFKI combines scientific excellence and commercially-oriented value creation with social awareness and is recognized as a major “Center of Excellence” by the international scientific community. In the field of artificial intelligence, DFKI has focused on the goal of human-centric AI for more than 30 years. Research is committed to essential, future-oriented areas of application and socially relevant topics. Currently, with a staff of about 1,560 employees from more than 76 countries, DFKI is developing the innovative software technologies of tomorrow. The financial budget was 82.6 million euros in 2022.
For further information, please visit www.dfki.de.
Image Material:
Image material for download is available at https://cloud.dfki.de/owncloud/index.php/s/MACMNFRREYW3DEw. Additionally, you can download our new logo on the DFKI website under Press Material: https://www.dfki.de/web/news-media/presse/presse-material.
Press Contact:
German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence GmbH (DFKI)
Team Communications & Media
Email: communications-hb@dfki.de
Tel.: 0421 178 45 4180
