2020

Growing up in a small town I had limited access to museums and cultural institutions. The closest museum was the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, and it was not until I was older that I learned to appreciate the breadth and quality of the SBMA collection.

With a collection of art from all over the world, with. an inclusive and holistic approach to curation, the  Santa Barbara Museum of Art rivals the collections of many other art museums in large cities. This new identity looks to update the existing branding for the museum to express the world-renowned quality of it’s collection that is not necessarilly expressed in its current, more conventional brand identity.

The  visual language takes inspiration from the architecture. and culture of Santa Barbara and the Museum itself. Using motifs of arches, and a modular grid system inspired by the Moorish tiles found throughout the city. This included a new font inspired by the museum, utilizing these architectural elements and the pictogram alphabet of the Chumash people.

The  original typeface for the museum, Haku, is inspired by the museum, utilizing these architectural elements and the pictogram alphabet of the Chumash people. The name Haku comes from a Chumash greeting.

Process ︎︎︎