An Identity Case Study
In 2006 the Frederic C. Hamilton building was opened to the public and has become an iconic Denver landmark as well as an icon for the Denver Art Museum. I tasked myself to bring the brand inline with the architectural and environmental design. In the hopes that it would unify the design experience.
This is the current logo for the Denver Art Museum. It left me with a few questions. Why two typefaces? Why is Denver sans-serif and Art Museum serif? Where does the green come from? Is this mark identifiable or memorable? Now, I have answered these questions for myself but they are more based on assumption or opinion so I’ll leave it there.
The icon is meant to reference the building’s geometry, intersecting planes, and cantilever design without directly showing the building. The type is meant to complement the geometric nature without taking too much of the spotlight. Finally, the yellow is pulled from environmental elements within the first floor interior of the museum.
I wanted to apply the new design language to a few pieces. I wanted to design items that would have the most museum patron interaction. The card uses the angle from the icon and the type lies on a grid based on the same angle.
These are the general, one day admission tickets. As I designed more pieces I realized that the yellow with the angle from the icon mark was becoming the brand. The ticket stubs are perforated at the same angle and create a fun momento.
This plastic membership card has a transparent portion. This transparent aspect is to invite the annual member back to the museum. Allowing, the patron to look past the card and experience the collections.
After conducting a few interviews I found that museum website users want/ go to the site for two things. First and foremost users go to the site to find out the museum is open and/or their general hours. Two, users go to site to find out what the current exhibits are. By implementing both answers above the fold most users needs were satisfied quickly and on the first page.
