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Rendering courtesy of Pentagram
Pentagram has released materials showcasing their new visual identity project undertaken for their clients at the Memphis Art Museum (formerly the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art) ahead of the completion of its Herzog & de Meuron-led expansion in 2025.
The lettering and logo included in the kit derive from cross-section drawings of the new 122,000-square-foot building, which will grace the center of downtown at Overton Park. The expanded museum also forms the anchor of a wider riverfront development master plan that will reorient the commercial/cultural district. Costs for the expansion have been reported around $180 million.
“We have worked with the greater Memphis community for years on our vision for a new museum, and as it begins to take shape, we are proud to see that it will be a place for community and connectivity unlike anything in our city’s history,” the museum’s board president, Carl Person, told the Memphis Flyer newspaper recently about the institutional pivot. “It is truly Memphis’ art museum.”
Pentagram says: “The new logo emphasizes flexibility and is designed to be dynamic, modulating both vertically and horizontally. The brand direction came from working directly with Memphians while the logo letter shapes are derived from the cascading architecture of the new building. The identity provides a host of new colors and applications that allow it to be fluid and distinctive at the same time, reflected in a custom typeface that is infinitely adaptable.”
Video courtesy of Pentagram
The colors used were selected by Partner Paula Scher’s team to emphasize the creative spirit of the city known throughout the world for its contributions to Jazz music and African-American literature.
Pentagram has also led rebranding campaigns for the American Museum of Natural History in New York, the MIT Museum relocation (led by Höweler + Yoon), and the Museum of Arts and Design in Columbus Circle.
Additional media from the rebranding can be viewed below.
Image courtesy of Pentagram
Video courtesy of Pentagram
Video courtesy of Pentagram
