Yeşilbaş Lab

Website design + brand strategy + illustration

The Yesilbas Lab at Umeå University

Dr. Merve Yeşilbaş is absolutely brilliant and trying to wrap our brains around her astrobiology research was no easy task. The Yeşilbaş Lab studies water across space, time, and planetary conditions. They combine geochemistry, astrobiology and spectroscopy to better understand how water behaves and to answer a single, driving question:

Is there, or has there ever been, water on Mars?

For this project, we wanted to help Dr. Yeşilbaş launch her new lab in style, and bring in parts of her personality that folks may not always see! We wanted to reflect Merve’s joy and energy; her passion for space exploration; her unbridled enthusiasm for spectroscopy; and her lesser-known love for retro science fiction artwork.

Website home page design for the Yesilbas Lab

The brand

curious, adventurous, energetic

The Yeşilbaş Lab is drawn to the thrill of adventure, the allure of space and time travel, the mystery of the known and unknown universe. We wanted the brand to feel ambitious and energetic, with direct nods to their focus on water, space, and satellites.

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Behind the scenes:

logo design concepts

While all of the logo concepts were anchored in an awe for space exploration, we experimented with a variety of satellite, space, and water molecule imagery. Parts of unselected designs, like in #1, were repurposed in artwork across the site. Which one is your favorite?