McMichael: Hidden Gem to Must-see Icon
Founded in 1952 by Robert and Signe McMichael, the McMichael Canadian Art Collection is synonymous with icons like the Group of Seven, Emily Carr, and Tom Thomson. Beyond this legacy lies a vibrant, evolving institution—home to contemporary and Indigenous art, groundbreaking exhibitions, and new scholarship, but despite this breadth, public perception remains rooted in the past. With a major expansion underway, BMD was tasked with creating a bold new brand identity and website to reposition McMichael as a dynamic cultural space—one that challenges ideas about Canada, art, and society.
We conducted interviews that included artists, curators and board members and facilitated a pop-up studio with staff to better understand the value that the McMichael brings. From this work, we articulated a central idea to clarify and reposition the brand — The McMichael as “an invitation to explore.” This core concept frames the McMichael as a welcoming and dynamic place, one that invites everyone in to explore the art, ideas, and diverse identities that shape Canada.
It was critical that we not turn away from the McMichael’s historical role while drawing it into the present day. We redrew a 50-year old logo from the archive, retaining its hand-crafted sensibility, and paired it with a contemporary sans serif and rigorous grid.
One of the brand’s key difficulties was visibility. While the McMichael holds a central role in the national cultural conversation, its identity did not reflect that significance. To counter this, we dramatically scaled the logomark across key applications and created a consistent style for campaigns. The result is a declarative system that signals McMichael’s relevance and vitality, while increasing recognition.
Typography became a key element in building recognition and consistency. We introduced a strong typographic system that pairs a clear, modern sans serif for display with a warm, contemporary serif for body copy. Reinforcing McMichael’s mandate, typefaces are sourced from Canadian foundries, Feedtype and Tiro Typeworks, and include Indigenous language support through Canadian Syllabics.
The primary palette pulls unconventional colours from the very first painting acquired by the McMichael, grounding the identity in a deep sense of place and origin. For exhibition campaigns, we extend the system by drawing a surprising colour from a key artwork, allowing the brand to feel fresh and closely tied to the content while staying visually coherent.
With the help of our web development partners, Paula Inc., we brought impact to the website as well, letting bold type and art command the space. This approach brought modernity to the website experience, delivering an organized and intuitive interface that allows McMichael to tell stories in a visual way. We also developed a comprehensive library of modules that meet all their needs, enabling flexibility while maintaining consistency across diverse content types.
“I feel so inspired; we’re about to be who we are”Frances and Tim Price Executive Director and Chief Curator — Sarah Milroy
