NASA

Few institutions are as ubiquitous as NASA. They’re a pinnacle of scientific achievement that represents the best in humanity. To say the least, it was an honor to play this small part in an incredibly large picture. When Shane McFarland, the Technology Development Lead of the Advanced Suit Pressure Garment Team at Johnson Space Center, connected with us to help them design a patch and brand identity that would inspire their team, we were over the moon.

Shane came to us with plenty of great resource material. We worked together by analyzing everything from technical prototypes straight from NASA’s design labs to batman comic books and Frank Frazetta paintings. Between all of this source material, we came to the conclusion we wanted to create a patch design that felt aspirational, recognizable, and stayed true to the team mission: celebrate the suit technology that will allow humans to leapfrog from the moon and set foot on Mars.

The patch depicts the International Space Station in low Earth orbit, symbolizing ongoing missions, alongside imagery of the Moon and Mars to represent the progression of space travel from lunar missions to future Martian exploration. A thoughtful nod to historical milestones is included with a subtle focus of an astronaut’s boot, reminiscent of Neil Armstrong’s iconic footprint on the Moon. This element is artistically blended with a dynamic, 1940s comic book style illustration of an astronaut leaping, enhanced by a stylized flash effect, capturing the spirit of adventure and the boundless possibilities of space exploration.

We got to work on creating a presentation deck, business cards, mugs, shirts, and various other items that carried the same theme of the patch design. This wasn’t just about branding consistency; it was about making every piece of the package feel part of the team's space exploration mission. The brand identity was a major boost to the team spirit and helped keep the mission’s vision front and center.