This was a school project to rebrand the Seattle Asian Art Museum as if it were becoming its own entity separate from the Seattle Art Museum group. This resulted in a printed brand style guide booklet.
This was a group project with a classmate, Harry Cole. We visited the museum and noted how open the layout was: lots of horizontal lines that optically expanded the neutral-toned space and walls of gentle green to give a natural, meditative feel. We realized how organic the organization of the art objects were; the layout was organized by theme instead of a rigid chronological structure.
We set out to create a brand identity that represents this unique museum experience. We created a reflective, enriching, and authentic brand using a neutral color palette and spacious design system. The rounded and open shapes bring a modern, yet classic, ambiance that speaks to the experience one would have in the museum itself.
With this project, I did the logo and its variations, book layout, graphic elements (i.e. letters wrapping around the art objects, the lines, treatment of images), posters, wrote the descriptions, and most of the brand applications that would be printed (in the form of mockups).
Harry Cole's Portfolio:
This is a gallery of select spreads throughout the booklet. Everything displayed here was produced and laid out by me.
(CLICK ON THE IMAGES TO ENLARGE)
Here are some select process captures to see how we achieved the final result.
We started with looking at pictures of the museum: inside and out. We then visited the museum, took pictures, and made notes. We researched the background of the museum, who the audience is, and who the competitors were. We then connected everything to create an identity that was represented with three character traits, a promise statement, and a positioning statement. We divided up the three character traits into their own Tonal Territories so we could explore what those concepts would look like visually.
The first Tonal Territory is about the character trait: "Reflective." We felt the neutral tones of the environment gladly took a backseat so the artwork could take the spotlight. The horizontal lines of the main atrium created a spacious focal point. Jade-colored marble and sandstone flow through the lobby and complement the high ceilings and Art Deco ornamentation.
(CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO ENLARGE)
The second Tonal Territory is the character trait: "Enriching." The museum displays its artwork by theme instead of by country, region, or chronologically. We felt this provided a level of objectivity and neutrality while also fostering a connection between all the cultures of the Asian continent.
(CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO ENLARGE)
The third Tonal Territory is the character trait: "Authentic." The Seattle Asian Art Museum is one of the few museums in North America that is dedicated exclusively to Asian art. Although the museum is housed in a historic Art Deco building, it has recently undergone a contemporary renovation/extension and features contemporary art work. We felt that the collection and temporary exhibits span across time lending to a one-of-a-kind experience when viewed together.
(CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO ENLARGE)
We combined all three Tonal Territories into a singular Concept Board that would guide the entirety of our rebrand. We wanted the spacious and neutral feeling of "Reflective" to be the visual base of our designs; the gentle minimalism of "Enriching" to guide our typography and use of imagery/photography; and flowing pops of color amidst the neutral backgrounds to represent "Authentic."
(CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO ENLARGE)
This was the first page of sketches I made for the logo. I started out playing with minimal sans-serif letterforms. Some of the sketches also played with negative space/figure ground.
(CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO ENLARGE)
Then I got a little bit more experimental...
(CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO ENLARGE)
I wanted to explore the flowing ribbon-like letterforms so I went into Illustrator and tried out a few versions (including bringing them into all-black to see if they were versatile... SPOILER ALERT: they weren't lol). My project partner, Harry, and my instructor thought the rounded letter shapes fit the character traits the best. I whole-heartedly agreed so I developed that route.
(CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO ENLARGE)
