Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum - Brand & Digital Exp.

Modernize the brand identity of an established cultural instititution - Boston's famed Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum - without losing its distinctive history and intimacy.

Logo Refresh for Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum by Hollis, New Hampshire graphic designer Wendy Steckler
View through a black wrought iron fence with a black sign and white lettering. The sign shows an updated logo for Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and an arrow indicating the direction of the entrance.
Entrance to the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum featuring redesigned logo by Wendy Steckler Designs.
The design objective was to refresh the current museum brand identity in a way that aligns to the core values of the museum and its unique proposition of creativity, community and intimate art experiences while appealing to a modern audience. It will be instantly recognizable and used for all printed materials and promotions.
The current logo is shown below and the image above illustrates the new design.
Original logo for Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

Current logo of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.

THE DESIGN PROCESS
Assembling a mood board was the first design process step as inspiration for the new brand identify.
The museum has a unique value proposition as it's contents and layout are not traditional. Isabella Stewart's estate established the museum in her former home. There is a stipulation that the arrangement of the artwork should not be altered and no items were be sold or added to the collection. 
The building was built to evoke a 15th century Venetian palace and includes an interior courtyard that blends design elements from the Roman, Byzantine, Gothic and Renaissance periods.
The museum was the site of a 1990 art heist and empty frames continue to hang without the stolen art (first row bottom right).
Various views of the interior and exterior of Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

Images of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum courtyard and rooms.

Several concepts were explored via rough sketch focusing on the ornate windows overlooking the garden and depictions of Isabella to honor her as the namesake. 
Series of hand drawn designs for updated Isabella Stweart Gardner Museum Logos by Wendy Steckler Designs

Hand-drawn design prototypes for updated logo for Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum logo by Wendy Steckler Designs.

The windows are an iconic, timeless element of the museum that is instantly recognizable and of the original designs, the second bottom was chosen as the most appropriate concept to refine.
Final redesigned logo (icon and wordmark) for Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum by Wendy Steckler Designs

Final logo design for Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum by Wendy Steckler Designs

The primary brand identity is a combination mark with two elements; an icon and a wordmark. The icon serves as a reference to the memorable windows overlooking the courtyard while the wordmark provides additional identification.
BRAND VISUAL SYSTEM
​​​​​​​Brand colors were selected that reinforce the sense of formality, elegance and history of the museum.
A muted tone of deep red, Milano Red is the primary color balance by pure black and white. The secondary colors provide a supplemental palette of muted jeweled tones popular during Isabella's Stewart's time.
Brand colors for Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum brand refresh by Wendy Steckler Designs

Defined brand colors as part of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum brand refresh by Wendy Steckler Designs

Adobe Garamond Pro was chosen as the best type for headlines and sub-headlines to convey the elegance and the elevated style of the museum.
Adobe Garamond Pro
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,.?!@#$%^&*()
Gill Sans Nova was chosen as the best compliment for body copy, ensuring clarity and modern style.
Gill Sans Nova
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,.?!@#$%^&*()
Alternative Logo versions were designed, ensuring consistent usage across all assets and implementations.
Below, a vertical oriented logo and favicon for web applications.
Alternative versions of the redesigned logo for Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum by Wendy Steckler Designs

Alternative versions of the refreshed ISGM logo design by Wendy Steckler Designs

And alternate colors for use on color backgrounds.
Alternative approved uses of the refreshed ISGM logo by Wendy Steckler Designs

Alternative approved uses of the refreshed ISGM logo design by Wendy Steckler Designs

DIGITAL EXPERIENCE
In designing the updated website, several key audience profiles and journeys were identified.  Below is an example of the details for a Boston University student.
The final holistic content and journey map included membership promotion, visitor information, history and background of the museum and opportunities for private events.
A 12 column grid was used to plan content placements.
Initial layouts and interaction prototypes were completed in Adobe XD.
Colors and typography followed the refined brand identity guidelines with the closest google fonts added as substitues to ensure consistent experience for all web visitors.
High quality imagery was sourced from the web for prototype purposes. 
FINAL BRAND TRANSFORMATION
Examples of letterhead, envelope and business card logo placements as part of the refreshed logo design package by Wendy Steckler Designs

Letterhead and stationery for the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum featuring a redesigned logo by Wendy Steckler Designs.

Redesigned website landing and internal pages featuring the updated Isabella Stewart logo and branding by Wendy Steckler Designs.

Redesigned website pages featuring the updated Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum branding and logo.

Redesigned website page on Apple ipad, landing page on iphone and app interface for Apple watch featuring the updated Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum branding and logo by Wendy Steckler Designs

Redesigned website page on Apple ipad, landing page on iphone and app interface for Apple watch featuring the updated Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum branding and logo.

LIVE PROTOTYPE DEVELOPMENT
The prototype was developed for live interaction using Bootstrap.
View Live Web Prototype

ADDITIONAL DESIGNS

Refreshed Website for Boston's ISGM
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Portland Leather Goods Ad Campaign
New England Travel - Brand & Publication System
New Logo for Boston's ISGM
A New Poster for a Wharton Movie Classic
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