Museum of Toronto: Surfacing a Hidden Treasure
Museum of Toronto is a not-for-profit that has been quietly redefining the way we tell our city’s stories. This year will see a giant leap as they move from a basement to a storefront space at one of the busiest intersections of the city. They tapped BMD for a new identity, eventually leading to website reskin, donor materials and signage.
Founded in 2014 with an initial idea as a museum without walls, it has evolved into an exciting space with exhibitions and events that continually push the envelope. Exhibit topics range from the role of women in the city to the Black railway porter experience to Toronto sports culture. The initial brief was clear: the new identity needed to reflect a non-traditional museum, one with broad appeal, poised to become a leading city museum.
Stakeholders articulated some other key attributes of the new identity: clarity, presence, approachability, and dynamism.
The inspiration for the graphic identity came from the interviews: the museum as a window into a layered city. The overlap, where the stems of the type meet, each forming a distinct shape, become these windows – able to be filled with images from across the spectrum of Toronto’s history.
The square geometry of the core mark provides an easy-to-use layout system, leverageable across communications, from website to motion to print.
As an institution that was becoming newly visible, and to build recognition, we wanted to make sure that “Museum of Toronto” was part of the core mark. As an accessible hub for telling Toronto’s stories, we wanted to lean into something more colloquial. The solution was an initialism approach: MTO, using one of Toronto’s unofficial nicknames, T.O.
The website reskin, in collaboration with digital agency Sparked, brought new modules with fresh colours, clearer hierarchy and easier-to-follow CTAs.
Type uses a cool grotesque sans paired with a warm serif.
Core colours started with the blue and red of the Toronto flag which were then pushed to an exuberant vibrancy. Black makes sure we have a solid foundation.
Flexibility is key. The identity can be toned down, as in our printed case for support or turned up, like the vinyl wrap for the new space while it is under construction.
“Bruce Mau Design has given our museum an identity as bold and dynamic as Toronto itself.”Heidi Reitmaier, CEO and Executive Director of Museum of Toronto
