Redesigning an iconic museum’s identity for a new era.
The Museum of Art, New York

Art direction, identity systems, strategy

Client: The Museum of Modern Art, New York

2019

Before reopening with a larger footprint and a new approach to showcasing our collection, we worked closely with Order to evolve and define a more modular, adaptable, and scalable design system for our advertising and related materials.

Designed with the entire MoMA Design Studio, in collaboration with Order, Pep Rally; Photos: Mari Juliano




Design system

The identity developed in partnership with Order uses clear, modernist typography, bold colors, and a modular grid system to convey a range of information in an immediately recognizable manner.






Motion design

Building the system

We worked closely with Order, Pep Rally, and the internal MoMA Design Studio to establish consistent motion and typographic standards to facilitate a wide range of needs—from title cards and subtitle treatments on longform content to Instagram stories and digitally-native advertising.





Digital campaigns

We worked closely with Order, Pep Rally, and the internal MoMA Design Studio to establish consistent motion and typographic standards to facilitate a wide range of needs—from title cards and subtitle treatments on longform content to Instagram stories and digitally-native advertising.






Wayfinding signage


Today, MoMA’s campus is a succession of buildings that first started in the original 1939 International Style building designed by Philip L. Goodwin and Edward Durell Stone. The museum was subsequently expanded over the decades: a new east wing by Philip Johnson in 1964, and a César Pelli & Associates-designed west wing and tower in 1984. In 2004, the museum marked its 75th anniversary with its largest expansion by Yoshio Tanuguchi. And most recently, MoMA announced in 2019 that it was increasing its exhibition space by 30% with a new Diller Scofidio + Renfo building to the west of its campus.

This clustering of buildings had proven difficult for visitors to navigate, so the MoMA Design Studio, in partnership with Gensler, embarked on a mission of clarifying the overall wayfinding approach for visitors. The ensuing system used physical lettering, digital screens, a custom-built digital visitor guide, and a suite of temporary signage templates to better serve our guests.





A New MoMA


Ahead of MoMA’s 2019 opening, we worked with photographer Noah Kalina to capture the visitor experience in our newly installed galleries.