WS Chronicle

In above photo: UNC School of the Arts logo. (File photo)

The University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) unveiled a new visual identity to students, faculty and staff during its fall convocation and picnic on campus.

Chancellor Lindsay Bierman, who is starting his second academic year, made the announcement. Bierman is the former editor in chief of Southern Living magazine.

Specifically describing the typeface as “a series of interlocking shapes, representing the collaborative nature of the arts,” he also explained the choice of colors – or lack thereof.

“You’ll notice that it’s black and white,” Bierman said. “Black and white is a uniform of sorts for the arts: Wouldn’t you techies, budding ballerinas, actors, and members of our symphony orchestra agree?” referring to concert dress, class leotards, and universal behind-the-scenes wear.

“It’s also the fundamental, formative source of artistic creation: whether it’s a play written in the pages of a book, music notes on a staff, a movie script on copy paper, or technical drawings. Black and white even conveys a sense of place in the arts: a black-box space strewn with pages of a script. The blank white screen in a dark theater. It’s classic, yet modern. Like us.”

In addition, he noted that black and white also serves to underscore and magnify the full spectrum of color that is UNCSA: “the vibrant conservatory community in which we live. Your art, in living color – rather than the logo – becomes the focus.”