After a two year construction closure, The Joslyn art museum in Omaha, Nebraska has reopened to the public, where it has unveiled not only a new building designed by Snøhetta but also an entirely new brand that draws on the museum’s rich history.

While the Joslyn Art Museum remains the institution’s formal name, a simplified moniker, The Joslyn, appears across the new identity, which has been developed by Eddie Opara and his team at Pentagram. The shortened moniker nods to visitors who frequently shortened the full name anyway. “It is endearing,” says Jack Becker, executive director and CEO. “It suggests closeness.”

The moniker will be rendered across the identity using fresh, custom typography that “embodies the spirit of regeneration that has inspired years of evolution, adaptation, and improvement at the museum”.

The typography includes three different display typefaces that draw on the architecture of the museum, with specific references made to the original 1931 Joslyn Building designed by John and Alan McDonald; the 1994 Scott Pavilion designed by Foster & Partners; and the new Hawks Pavilion designed by Snøhetta.

These display typefaces will allow the identity’s core wordmark – which features letterforms taken from each of them – to feel expressive and versatile. With a full alphabet having been designed for each typeface, the possibilities are endless, with the text able to flex and correspond to different artworks, exhibitions, and programming in the years to come. As a result, The Joslyn will continue to feel visually relevant into the future.

In terms of the museum’s everyday communications, the typeface Arizona Flare by ABC Dinamo was chosen to do the heavy lifting. Accessible and versatile, it has been adapted in collaboration with the foundry to include an alphabet of glyphs and phonetic characters for Umóⁿhoⁿ (Omaha) and other Indigenous languages spoken in the region, emphasising how The Joslyn is open to all.

The core palette speaks to the museum’s architecture, which in turn reflects the earth, ground and sky of the Great Plains, by extending its dialogue to include a warm camel brown, a deep green and a medium-dark shade of cyan blue.

“The Joslyn sets the standard in its commitment to pushing the boundaries of art and architecture to inspire creativity and action,” notes Opara. “The brand embodies design prowess, striving to illuminate rather than intimidate, to be fresh rather than formal, and to engage minds in an uplifting and insightful manner.”

pentagram.com