A Texas Upgrade

Its been awhile since I have truly been blown away by a logo/identity...perhaps even months since it has been that long since I have posted on Crew Design. tsk tsk.

The new identity system for the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History designed by the geniuses at Pentagram has really knocked my socks off. "Stout and his team in Austin (represent!) developed a logo consisting of three squares representing the letters F, W, and M (Fort Worth Museum) and an entire alphabet of Legorreta-inspired letterforms. The square letterforms can be stacked and rearranged like a child’s set of alphabet blocks. These symbolic “building blocks of knowledge” are a metaphor for the museum’s early roots as a children’s museum and its commitment to families and learning."



I can't help but show some of the initial application ideas of this identity which are on the Pentagram website. The square motif shows up in other components of the new identity system, including a pattern based on a lattice of squares called “The Skeleton,” a distinctive graphic rendering technique created by reversing a grid of squares out of simple silhouetted imagery, and fun merchandise concepts like foam block hats, square coffee cups, and a set of “Legorreta Letterform” alphabet blocks. “I wanted the museum to own the square,” says Stout. “I want them to be square but hip, too.”

As usual, I can't help but throw in my one bit of critique...not a huge fan of the color palette, but no one’s perfect. ••••