Now that you know How to Build a Basic Exhibit Brand and What Makes an Exhibit Logo Successful, let's dive into examples of exhibit logos.
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For MOMA’s 2014 exhibition highlighting the life and work of René Magritte, the Museum’s art department designed a custom typeface in the spirit of the artist; a perfect marriage of subject and theme. This type was used to style the main exhibition title wall (seen here) as well as other wall text throughout the space.
Why it works: This custom font helps establish visual cues to the kind of art displayed in the exhibit.
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The National History Museum’s 2016 exhibition, exploring space through the work of artist Michael Benson, includes a beautiful example of incorporating a subtle graphic element beyond type that reinforces the exhibition’s theme.
Why it works: That curve intersecting with the "O" in the title creates depth in the title and indicates the exhibit content. It's a very simple addition that packs a big punch.
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The Smithsonian Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden’s title design for their current exhibition (on view through Summer 2019) is a great example of clear, versatile design. The styling of the title and subtitle are refined and recognizable. A testament to the adaptability of the design, and creativity of the designers, is the title wall, which displays the lockup in silver vinyl.
Why it works: This is a great example of a simple title design that is made up of a large word count. The substantial weight of the main title font is strong, recognizable and creates dynamic space around the words that reinforces the idea of "absence."
More examples
You can see samples from my exhibit logo challenge for more examples of different title designs. Some of my favorites are here:
Prisons:
This title emphasizes a claustrophobic and monotonous tone using only vertical bars. This title, Prisons Today: Questions in the Age of Mass Incarceration is all about space closing in on itself. The letters are kerned very tightly and lines on either side move closer together as they go inward, crowding the words. The title is set in a dark gray on a gray-white background.
The Wonder Sound:
This title design can be easily read large or small. The hand-drawn type creates an engaging and adventurous tone.
Dear Boston:
One trick is to set the main title in a unique typeface and to style the subtitle in the museum’s brand font. The words, "Dear Boston" appears in negative space left from multiple shoe prints in black. The words, "Messages from the Marathon Memorial" are centered in black under the shape the shoe prints make.
Design for the Modern Child:
This design is built to not only appeal to kids, but play with shapes - a main design element from the exhibit.
Shop Life:
This title is designed to replicate traditional shop windows which lets viewers know the exhibit contains historical information.
Wyeth:
This design utilizes type and size differences to highlight the connection between the two artists shown: their name.
FreePort:
This title had a subtitle and a framing element to incorporate. Now all three pieces work together to make one mark.
Feeling inspired? Keep reading to get my exact process for creating exhibit logos.
Questions to Ask When Designing an Exhibit Logo >
Examples of Museum Branding
The Whitney has one of the most distinct and recognizable brands due to its use of stark white and thin lines.
Statement from the Museum: "The [brand] is a distinctive and inventive graphic system that literally responds to art—a fundamental attribute of the Whitney since its founding in 1930. This dynamic identity, which the designers refer to as the “responsive ‘W’”, also illustrates the Museum’s ever-changing nature."
See the full brand case study from the design team at Experimental Jetset.
See more examples on my Museum Branding Examples Pinterest Board
Let's Talk About Museum Exhibition Branding
Just like it’s important to have a clear and recognizable style for your museum, it’s just as important to brand individual exhibitions and events. It's how your audience will recognize your efforts and messaging specific to the exhibit.
The visual footprint of your exhibition is most likely the first point of contact your audience will have to any show. They could see it on a poster, an ad in a community paper, or on the title wall in your space.
Having an exhibit brand can do quite a bit of heavy lifting in communicating what the exhibit is about and appealing to those that might be interested in coming. So, it’s important that it's clear and communicates the tone of the show.
Having a clear branding for your exhibition can jumpstart interest leading up to an opening. It can also communicate context for what the information or subject matter is and where it’s from. When used in the physical space itself, this branding can act as a guide to lead the viewer through the room and establish boundaries for the exhibition with signage or wall colors.
Examples of Exhibition Branding
This digital ad for the exhibit Right or Privilege? Alabama Women and the Vote shows the exhibit's main title design, two colors, and photo treatment. The exhibit explored the history of the 100+ years of voting rights activism in Alabama.
The brand was intentionally designed to combine old and new. A bold serif font was paired with a clean sans serif in the title. Colors in the campaign ranged from purples and golds used by the early twentieth-century suffragettes to the greens used during the 1960's Civil Rights initiatives. Colors were overlayed on black and white images to create a vibrant relationship between history and today.
See the full exhibit brand and more supplemental marketing material.
What Does It Look Like to Have an Exhibit Brand?
Let's imagine: Your museum is working hard to organize a new exhibition to open next year. You have all of your research and artifacts collected. Funds have been raised and final loans are being negotiated. Some of your biggest donors are on board for this, so you really want it to connect with your community and be a success.
Now think about how you want to spread the word. You’ll probably want to start early with teases about the show. Maybe run a few social media ads to raise engagement. Then you might put some posters up around town a couple months out and run a radio ad. An email blast to your members will invite them to RSVP to the opening. Postcards in the mail will reach snail-mail lovers.
And all of that is just leading up to the opening. The potential for your audience to hear about the exhibition from different sources is pretty big, and exactly what you need to drive interest. The best thing you can do is consider branding early on so that every message your audience gets is clear and consistent.
The Benefits of Museum Exhibit Branding
In the same way that it's important for your museum's brand to be engaging and recognizable, it's equally important for the exhibits and events in your space to also have a distinct voice.
A clear and consistent brand will:
1. Create a clear story for your audience to engage with
2. Consistently promote your museum in a professional way
3. Help spark interest by visually describing the tone and content of your exhibit
4. Save you time! In all of your marketing pieces, you will never need to start from scratch to create a new promotional graphic.
Feeling inspired? Keep reading to get my exact process for creating exhibit logos.