MassArt Art Museum (MAAM)
Imagining the unimagined.
After 30 years of showcasing groundbreaking contemporary art and visionary artists, the Bakalar and Paine Galleries at Massachusetts College of Art and Design underwent extensive renovations to reopen in 2020 as the MassArt Art Museum (MAAM), Boston’s newest, free contemporary art museum. They were in need of a brand identity that pushed boundaries, felt flexible, warm, and fresh, and stood out amongst their peers.
Featured in the Identity section of Communication Arts’ Typography Annual 10 (January/February 2020).
Fonts In Use staff pick.
DESIGNED WHILE AT MOTH DESIGN—IN COLLABORATION WITH LEAH FENTON and STEPHANIE BOGLE, under the instruction of tammy dayton and erin zwaska
NEVER SEEN BEFORE
The visual identity is meant to reimagine ordinary, often black and white museum branding. Unafraid of color, movement, scale, and dimension—the brand is bold and feels a bit unexpected. The logomark is both scultpural and ever-evolving, a vehicle for the art.
DIMENSIONAL AND CONTEMPORARY
Working alongside type designer, Nick Sherman, we created both a logomark and custom typeface that complemented the dimensionality in the logomark and the visionary nature of the brand.
MassArt Art Museum is a kunsthalle—a noncollecting museum that is always changing, always evolving, and always at the forefront of contemporary art.
FREE AND FLEXIBLE
The modular and flexible system extends to applications such as signage, ads, mechandise, and social media, while the vibrant and playful color palette insert a warmth and approachability that mirrors the core values of an always free and open (to the public) museum.
The modular and flexible system extends to applications such as signage, ads, mechandise, and social media, while the vibrant and playful color palette insert a warmth and approachability that mirrors the core values of an always free and open (to the public) museum.
The museum inspires people of all ages and from all walks of life to create and experience contemporary art beyond their wildest imaginations.
