Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam Identity Branding (2012)
In 2012, Mevis & Van Deursen rebranded the Stedelijk Museum’s visual identity. This involved various collateral pieces like stationery, posters, signage, and much more. The logo is made by formatting “Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam” into an “S” shape. This logotype feels subversive as it keeps a minimalist attitude in its sans serif font choice in Union but also juxtaposes that with the bold choice to include the entire name within the limited space of an “S”. This identity is proven strong when examining the parts accompanying it.
Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam Logotype
One interesting form of this identity is the continuation of type formatting with the signage system. Here you can see experimentation of type layout with consideration for the places these signs would lead to. Within this set you can see a sense of cleverness for each one while still retaining the same quality of the entire identity system.
Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam Signage
One can see another facet of the Stedelijk identity parameters in a layout structure for materials more commonly used and updated by the museum. This layout is strong in providing a frame which highlights the content. This is essential for an institution whose intent is to provide a platform for artists and designers to reach the general public to create dialogue. Mevis & van Deursen’s understanding of this can be seen in their restrained application within the materials, allowing space for ideation to present different topics.
Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam Cover Brochure
Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam Poster
Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam Angenda
Bibliography
“Stedelijk Museum Identity (2012).” Fonts In Uses, 2016, https://fontsinuse.com/uses/12058/stedelijk-museum-identity-2012.
“Cover Education Brochure, Designed by Mevis & Van Deursen.” Stedelijk, 2012, https://www.stedelijk.nl/en/news/new-visual-identity-by-mevis-en-van-deursen.
These logo and signage designs are unique and interesting. I feel they definitely give the minimalistic image a museum would be wanting to depict their overall image. However, the issue I have with this design is the legibility of the typography for the logo and signage, especially to those with dyslexia. I personally have dyslexia and was having a very hard time reading the overwhelming text and layouts. Through some adjustments such as a font change or increasing the spacing between the individual letters, I feel this design could be more accessible to those with dyslexia. Another accessibility issue I noticed was with brochure cover. While the cover is very pretty, I feel there may be some legibility issues for those who suffer from colorblindness.