SagmeisterWalsh draw on “sacred geometry” for the redesign of the Jewish Museum in New York City.
Stefan Sagmeister and Jessica Walsh of design studio SagmeisterWalsh recently designed a new graphic identity for the pre-eminent museum in the United States devoted to art and Jewish culture. The Jewish Museum has a renowned collection of 30 000 objects that is among the three largest of its kind in the world. The museum’s reach expands to a diverse audience through extensive interdisciplinary programming and contemporary exhibitions.
SagmeisterWalsh’s new identity system is founded on what the duo refer to as “sacred geometry”, an ancient geometric system from which the Star of David was formed. The entire branding system is drawn on this grid, from the word and logo mark, to patterns, icons, typography and illustrations.
Our goal in rebranding the museum was to connect the historic and contemporary, and engage multiple visitor generations, says Sagmeister.
To bridge the gap between historic and contemporary for visitors, the design duo incorporated photography into their overall design through building a processing app that turns a photo or webcam stream into a Jewish Museum illustration.
The identity system invited surprise and flexibility across all media, while always unified in visual language, says Sagmeister.
The new identity includes stationery, packaging, advertising campaigns, promotional materials and an immersive new website to be launched in June 2014.
