MYSA

Variable logo as core of a breathing identity

Technology, breathwork and body awareness

MYSA grew out of research into human-centred wearables by TNO at the Holst Centre in the Netherlands, where designers, engineers and researchers explored how textiles could communicate directly with the body. The concept was further developed by Dutch company Touchwaves, bringing together textile design, breathwork, body awareness and applied research.

The result is the MYSA shirt, a smart garment with flexible electronics and tiny vibration motors integrated into the fabric (which appeared not unlike something from a science fiction film the first time I saw it). Worn as a base-layer under regular clothing, it’s paired with a companion app (with breathing programs) that does not track or display, but listens, guides and responds – turning breath into a tactile experience.

Multitude was asked to develop the identity for MYSA, and a product that has breathing as its core, should have breathing as the core of its brand, a living logotype, a logo that inhales and exhales, expands and releases.

Energy and motion

The logo, typograhpy and colours form a design system that provide for both a range of applications and a range of energy or moods. Energy is translated into a range between calm (or light) and active (or bold). Application is translated into a range between small (or simple) and large (or detailed). These ranges form the axes of the variable logo design space: weight and optical size.

The simple version is aimed at medium to smaller sizes, suited for most common applications like clothing labels, the logo on the website or an avatar. The detailed version of the logo draws inspiration from electronic circuits (like those on the shirt) and really shines in larger applications. For example when cropped as background of a poster or presentation, the website or packaging. And of course in motion.

Shown here are examples of the application of both calm an active moods (active was later omitted), as well as experiments with an actual breath sensor hooked up to the logo and an image/motion generator (coding by Aidan Wyber), and motion design.

In collaboration with Lisa van Kleef (concept).