Nationalmuseum is Sweden’s museum of art and design. The collections comprise of paintings, sculptures, drawings and prints from 1500-1900 and applied arts, design, and portraits from early Middle Ages up until present day.

The site in Stockholm has undergone a massive 5-year renovation project — it has created a modern museum environment that is better for both the art, the exhibitions, and for visitors. Nationalmuseum on Blasieholmen in Stockholm was designed by the Berlin architect Friedrich August Stüler in 1866, and it is with his original architecture in mind that Wingårdhs and architect Erik Wikerstål has opened up, restored, and modernised the building.

Jane Wentworth Associates and Hat-trick Design are a long standing partnership, with a successful track record in developing strategic brands for cultural organisations such as the Natural History Museum, Imperial War Museums, and the University of Westminster. Our work with Nationalmuseum began with a thorough review of its current brand and a clear understanding of its ambitions for the future.

Nationalmuseum identity

Working together with all the museum’s staff, we developed a strategy to redefine what a museum of the future could be, by creating meaningful encounters between people and art.

This bold vision was the inspiration for a new visual identity that needed to create a dynamic platform for the future, whilst respecting the museum’s rich heritage. At the heart of the new identity is a logotype reflecting the Museum’s distinctive architecture and featuring a ligature — or typographic linking — of an ‘n’ and an ‘m’, to reflect the connection between past and future.

Nationalmuseum identity

Nationalmuseum identity

Nationalmuseum identity

As well as celebrating the brilliance and diversity of the collections through bold use of imagery, the balance of old and new is also maintained through use of classical letter forms applied in a contemporary way. Both serif (Chronicle) and sans serif (Akzidenz) fonts are used throughout, creating consistency and flexibility across a huge range of applications.

Nationalmuseum identity

Nationalmuseum identity

Nationalmuseum identity

Nationalmuseum identity

More from Hat-trick Design and Jane Wentworth Associates.

Comments

Really nice play for the N and M, and the space between the letters as windows for display is also a smart move.

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