Case Study - Museum of Modern Art

The Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan opened its doors in 1929. It was designed by the architects Philip Goodwin and Edward Durrell Stone. The project witnessed several expansions and additions starting with the sculpture garden in 1953 and then the addition in 1964 by Philip Johnson. In 1984, Cesar Pelli & Associates designed the west expansion. In 2004, the museum had the most recent expansion by Yoshio Taniguchi. The brand of MoMA went through a number of developments. The MoMA brand in its current form was first introduced by Pentagram in 2009. Due to the extensive use of the brand, the museum developed its own graphic design department, named as the In-house Design Team, to produce the graphic works for the numerous events and exhibitions based on the identity developed by Pentagram.

The orginal building Facade by Edward Durell Stone.

MOMA ARCHITECTURE:

The recent architectural extension worked as a mediator between the chaotic context of the city and the environment needed to explore the art. It connects the 53rd street and the 54th street through the main lobby of the museum. The new façade extends along the 54th street to contain the sculpture garden and to connect with all MoMA buildings. Taniguchi introduced a new aesthetic to the museum that implies purity and modernity, and contrasts with the richness of the context. The new design featured highly polished materials and sleek design. The polished black marble reflects the image of the city, and contrasts with the matt finished aluminum surface above the entrance. The designer wanted to emphasize that concept through the precision in details. Several advanced construction techniques were applied to obtain that result. The Archdaily wrote in its review of the project: “Taniguchi achieved the refined, minimal aesthetic by exacting precision in each detail. The panels on the exterior facades were installed with the least possible tolerance, diminishing the seams to create an apparently continuous surface. Vast panes of glass hang beneath the deep porticoes bounding the Sculpture Garden. To ensure the glass would not deflect as the museum filled with visitors, the curtain walls were freed from the floor structure. Steel mullions were chosen over the standard aluminum to allow a thinner profile of sufficient strength.” 1

The designer’s sketch explained some of the concepts introduced to respond to the context. The horizontal form of the new extension opposes the verticality of the city skyline. The clear and glossy surfaces of the exterior give a seamless expression of the surfaces. The smooth and shiny materials reflect the city collage and create a strong juxtaposition.

1 The Museum of Modern Art, http://www.archdaily.com.

Interior from the new expansion

MOMA BRAND:

MoMA is dedicated to house the most authentic and compelling artifacts of the modern art in the world. Its message means to establish a deeper understanding of the contemporary art to the international audience. The MoMA brand seeks to reflect this message in its logo and graphic identity. The first branded MoMA logotype was designed back in 1964 by Ivan Chermayeff using the Franklin Gothic No.2 font. In 2004, the font was redrawn by Matthew Carter and named MoMA Gothic, to create a bold and iconic identity for the museum. However, the application across web, print, and physical environment was not equally cohesive with the visionary museum itself. The museum engaged Pentagram to design a new graphical system that is powerful and comprehensive. Paula Scher, partner and lead designer for this project, critiqued the old logo: “While the MoMA logo is iconic, it alone is not enough to continually carry the spirit of the institution”. The new system introduced new techniques of showing the artwork on prints, and created a consistent application throughout all media. 2 The work was continued and further developed by a team of designers that worked in-house to produce the designs for the various exhibitions and products of the museum. The designs produced by the in-house team have variations but carry the same spirit of the system produced by Pentagram. All designs seek to communicate the message of the museum and engage the public on a pedestrian level of the streets or the subway stations.

2 Wheeler, Alina. Designing Brand Identity: an essential guide for the whole branding team. 2009, page 249.

Brand system design

MoMA Logo application on the museum side.

CONCLUSION:

The identity of the museum has special characteristics of having the most authentic and the largest collection of the modern artworks amongst other museums. Its message seeks to invite people and convey the modern art to the world. This needed to be manifest in both recent works of branding and architecture. The designs proposed by the architect for the physical container of the artifacts utilized the language of architecture to express the openness, modernity, and distinctiveness. The branding system also communicates a similar concept through the digital and print media. The rectilinear form of the museum is comparable to the layout of the branding system. The contrast between the reflective and the matt, the smooth and rough in the building surfaces is matched with the contrast between the colored and colorless, the vertical and the horizontal in the layout. Even the positioning of the sign on the building exterior also reiterates that concept. To conclude, architecture can present the identity of the building through its visual elements and form compositions.

Image Source: a. Archdaily.com/the Museum of Modern Art. b. Pentagram.com/the Museum of Modern Art, Pentagram designed the new, which established for the consistent treatment of images and type. All pictured examples of the new identity were designed by the in-house design team.