Lowe Art Museum

UPDATING THE BRAND

When we started our work for the museum, the Lowe had a well established brand and logotype that they used on all museum collateral and promotions. But when the University of Miami updated their own university-wide brand standards, the museum's existing logotype was replaced by a new University compliant standard. The new brand did not express the unique quality of the art museum, or pay tribute to its history and the institution's unique place in the South Florida cultural community. At this same time, a new Museum Director took the helm and felt strongly that the museum's brand needed a complete refreshing. We developed a new, more contemporary, look and style to be used for all museum publications and communications. Part of this re-design included the consistent use of a simple text treatment—the word LOWE— in a Minion Pro typeface that was to be used on all branded materials. This text treatment did not replace the official University branding, but it has become a unifying graphic element and style for all museum materials. 

EXHIBITION CATALOGS

Every exhibition is unique, and so are the catalogs that represent them. Through the years we have designed more than 30 museum catalogs—ranging from twenty pages to hundreds of pages—and they collectively contain dozens of scholarly essays and depict thousands of images from history’s greatest artists. We developed a set of common guidelines for the layouts of these catalogs, so that they all share similar attributes and branding, yet retain the unique characteristics of each individual exhibition. We established typical sizes, text treatments, and image handling parameters—and philosophies for when and how to adjust them. In all instances, we have worked closely with each exhibition curator, and the museum's staff, to coordinate all catalog imagery, colors, graphics and text treatments with the actual exhibition graphics and color schemes. 

MUSEUM EVENTS & PROMOTIONS

We have designed branded materials for almost all of the Museum's numerous events and programs. This includes both printed and digitally distributed materials for museum invitations, announcements, promotions, and educational materials. The challenge with all collateral pieces is to promote the unique qualities of each individual exhibition or event, while honoring the established museum brand and style.