Origin of the Logo
The logo of the RIEK – Ibero-American Network for Studies on Hans Kelsen and the Vienna School of Legal Theory was conceived in May 2025 in the context of the process of establishing the network’s academic project. Since then, it has formed part of the institutional visual identity of the RIEK and has been used as one of the principal elements of public identification of its academic activities and its official channels of communication.
The design of the logo is based on a stylization of the portrait of Hans Kelsen taken around 1930 by the Viennese photographer Georg Fayer, preserved in the Bildarchiv Austria of the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek (inventory number Pf 6505 C(3)).
Österreichische Nationalbibliothek – Bildarchiv Austria, Inventarnummer Pf 6505 C(3)
The photograph shows Kelsen at around fifty years of age, in a bust portrait with lateral studio lighting, a dark neutral background, and the head slightly turned to the left from the viewer’s perspective. This portrait belongs to the final stage of Kelsen’s academic life in Vienna, shortly before his move to the University of Cologne in 1930, a moment that marks the beginning of the long series of exiles that thereafter characterized his intellectual trajectory.
Based on this historical photograph, a stylized representation of Kelsen’s profile was developed, which serves as the identifying symbol of the network.
Design Process
The design of the logo was developed in the context of the process of creating the RIEK academic project and was adopted as the institutional symbol of the network.
In an initial phase, different graphic stylizations of the original portrait were explored with the aim of identifying a clear, recognizable visual form suitable for use as an institutional symbol. For this purpose, digital tools for image editing and image generation were used, allowing experimentation with various interpretations of the historical portrait.
This process ultimately led to a stylized representation of Kelsen’s profile facing to the right, which was adopted as the basis of the institutional logo of the RIEK.
First Version of the Logo
The first version of the logo was presented in black in the context of the initial development of the RIEK academic project in May 2025.
This version was incorporated into the first draft of the network’s statutes and subsequently circulated among various scholars who participated in the initial phase of discussion of the project.
Chromatic Development
In a later phase of the design process, an institutional shade of blue (steel blue) was adopted, which constitutes the color of the current version of the RIEK logo. The version currently used by the network derives from the original design developed within the framework of the process of creating the academic project, to which minor graphical adjustments were subsequently made.
The shade of blue adopted for the final version of the logo belongs to the chromatic family known as steel blue, widely used in academic and institutional contexts. Its selection symbolically evokes the Central European intellectual tradition associated with the work of Hans Kelsen and with the history of the Vienna School of Legal Theory.
The use of this color seeks to establish a visual link between the network’s contemporary identity and the historical origins of the legal tradition that inspires the project.
Based on the color adopted for the final version of the logo, the chromatic identity of the website was also defined. It is based on a palette composed of steel blue, white, and black, which visually structures the institutional communication of the network.
Institutional Function of the Logo
The RIEK logo forms part of the institutional visual identity of the academic project and constitutes one of the principal elements of the network’s public identification.
Since its adoption in May 2025, the logo has been used continuously as an element of institutional identification of the RIEK in its academic activities and in its official channels of communication.
The designation “RIEK” is currently in the process of being registered as a word mark with the Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt (DPMA).
The name of the network, its institutional logo, the elements that constitute the visual identity of the RIEK, and the contents of this website form part of the institutional identity of the academic project and of its public presence within the international scientific community.
The use of the name RIEK, its logo, and the associated elements of visual identity is linked to the academic and scientific activities carried out within the framework of the network.