Behind the logo
Inspired by Calder's work
Alexander Calder made art out of tension and movement. That’s also a good description of this work.
When I started building the Koessler Strategies brand, I worked through it with a trusted colleague, a former creative director at The Walt Disney Company. Somewhere between the mood boards and the positioning, I kept coming back to my own background in art and design, and to Calder.
I’m a Michigan native, and Calder left his mark on both sides of the state, from La Grande Vitesse in Grand Rapids to the east side. The building where I studied art and design in college is named after him, and his work left a lasting impression on me.
His final work, Mountains and Clouds, stands in the atrium of the Hart Senate Office Building, named for Michigan Senator Philip Hart. It draws a line from Michigan, a battleground in the heart of the country, to Washington.
His mobiles hold opposing forces in balance and keep moving. Telling a story that changes minds works the same way. For a candidate, a cause, a company, or a cultural figure, the message has to hold together under pressure and keep moving to make an impact.
That’s the idea behind the mark: three shapes, in tension and in balance, always in motion.
— DJ Koessler