Melbourne Display Tradition Museum reveals daring branding
The Australian Moving Image Center (ACMI), based in Melbourne, was temporarily closed last year to allow for an ambitious A $ 40 million renovation. After some inevitable delays this year due to Covid-19, the renovation should now be announced in early 2021.
When the museum reopens it will have a new look designed by the UK design agency North. This completes ACMI's transformation from its beginnings as a local film center in the 1940s to the most visited museum of its kind.
The heart of the identity is a distinctive new word mark, which is rounded at the edges to create a powerful boxy effect that is well suited to a grid system. The "m" is subtly reminiscent of the shape of a video cassette and ensures a much more memorable logo than its somewhat corporate predecessor. A new font, Px Grotesk, has also been added to the suite that can be used for all touchpoints.
North worked closely with ACMI's in-house design team on the identity, which has an optimized color palette that enhances the vivid imagery of the museum's overall cultural program. The update includes revised signage, goods and campaign assets, as well as a new Liquorice website and internal wayfinding from Büro North.
The new identity coincides with the launch of an online exhibition along with the announcement that when the ACMI reopens, it will introduce a new approach that incorporates the digital into the museum experience.
The tendency towards the digital gave impetus for a stronger focus on video content and animations in the visual identity system, which is particularly suitable for a museum for moving image work.
With the promise that there will be something for the people at home as well as physically and digitally in the museum space, ACMI is facing the post-Covid art world – with a fresh look.
northdesign.co.uk; acmi.net.au.