Art is freeing, so are the museum branding guidelines.
Everything from The Met logo’s clean and modern serifs to the Museum of London’s multicolored swirls, and all the way to Smithsonian’s dual-tone sun – there are no restrictions to what you can or cannot do with a museum brand identity.
The reason is simple. Museums are collectors and guardians of history, cultures, and movements. They preserve our moments in time, and without prejudice or praise, store and present those moments for generations to come. For such organizations and their ideas to prosper, it is important that their identities are presented most authentically and at an atomic level.
Art logos, by default, are the perfect candidates to create compelling and exciting brand identity designs for museums of all kinds. Whether you are creating a logo for a cultural museum, a history museum, or even a war museum, art logo images are flexible and creative enough to handle what you throw at them.
However, there are few kinds of art logo examples that we know works for certain kinds of museums more than others. Colorful art logos are especially preferred by museums that cater to younger kids or where the target audience is more art-inclined. Such museums include art museums, craft museums, design museums, and such.
History museums, on the other hand, have always favored logo designs that are more elaborate or institutional. Can we really forget the intricate design of the old Met logo? The idea was to depict a sense of elegance and intellect through the design. While it did make museums sound like grand things, it also made them less appealing to the greater public.
However, recently, an attempt has been made to make museums sound like exciting places. Especially for those who might not like to visit one on the count of them seem like a boring or taxing activity. The Museum of London logo is a famous example of a museum identity design that’s colorful, creative, and inviting. And it has been achieved by adopting a brand identity design that’s less-institutional and more colorful.
Let’s take a look at 8 museums that have realized what art logos can do for the branding and decided to join the gang.