A logo design for the National Museum of Mathematics’ junior high and high school social evenings.
Jason Polkovitz
Graphic Design & Art Direction
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A promotional piece for an interactive talk at MoMath.
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MoMath moved down the block and required some new signs for those who needed to go. Here are a couple concepts.
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In 2023 a new tessellating tile was discovered that opened the door to several others that disproved long-standing geometry theories about tiling patterns. “The Hat” was the first of at least three new tiles that created aperiodic patterns (non-repeating).
In celebration of this, MoMath and the UK Maths Trust ran a celebration and contest to create art with this new tile. I was tasked with creating a logo for this event.
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One of my duties as Graphic Designer for the National Museum of Mathematics in New York is to create graphics for the annual gala. This was one from 2015 honoring Santiago Calatrava, whose Occulus building down in the Financial District had just been completed. The design was informed by his style and the Occulus specifically.
Program cover (front and back) 
Podium sign 
Check-in sign 
Interactive art installation sign -
The National Museum of Mathematics (MoMath) went online-only during the COVID19 pandemic of 2020. In order to continue the mission of education – in this case specifically for very young children – the educators employed by the MoMath created lessons to be taught via ZOOM. These are some of the illustrations that were created to be used on the worksheets that were designed for use in MoMath’s MathPlay program.
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As an on-staff graphic designer (or, rather, THE on-staff graphic designer) of a museum, the repetitive nature of the work can start to grind you down. I had seen a job offer online and decided to mess with the concept, even though I wasn’t going to get the freelance gig… you know, to keep those creative juices flowing. The job was for a baby food company in one of the antipodal nations who needed a logo. I found the idea of it intriguing so I took a shot at it.
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A few years back, on the heels of the release of The Imitation Game , MoMath hosted a puzzle hunt based on that film. To that end, the exhibit designer and I were tasked to create a codex cylinder for one of the problems the participants were to solve. He created this lovely acrylic and magnet device and my job was to make the letters to be manipulated to break the code. Seeing that the hunt was based on the movie, and the movie was based on Alan Turing’s quest to break the German ENIGMA code during World War 2, I used the ENIGMA code machine as an inspiration – using typewriter-style lettering for the letters, and including a patterned interior based on the housing of the ENIGMA machine itself. These devices are still used by the Museum education department as part of their code-breaking lessons.
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The Museum hosted a debate around a year ago highlighting the pros and cons regarding the current state of high school level mathematical education in the United States. I was asked to create a backdrop (which also acted as an advertisement on the Museum website).
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Unfortunately this project – a promotional brochure for a furniture restorer – died in the making… which is a real shame. I loved how it was coming along, and I respected the heck out of Marco and his amazing craftsmanship. The shop in Queens was a wonderland of tools and in-progress work. Marco is still in business, but now out in Nassau County, Long Island, instead of Queens, NY as can be seen in the copy.
As a side note, every color in the palette of this brochure was inspired by the things in Marco’s studio.
Jason Polkovitz 