Pentagram: New identity for Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

드디어 그 문제작(ㅋㅋㅋ)을 봤다. 서체만 보고 판단하지 않으려 했으나.... 좀 실망스럽다는 생각이 드는 건 어쩔 수 없다.
물론 대단한 펜타그램이고 대단한 쿠퍼 휴잇이긴 한데 결과물은 

이전 아이덴티티와 확실히 구별될 정도로 달라진 것 외에는 딱히 인상적이란 느낌은 안 든다. 
그게 새로운 아이덴티티 디자인의 주목적이었다면 이건 성공적인 디자인이라고 할 순 있겠다...
대단한 디자인 회사에서 했으니 뭔가 이런 결과물이 나온 것도 다 이유가 있을 것이고 

내가 무식하고 둔해서 잘 한 디자인을 몰라보는 것일 수도 있겠으나
생각한 것보다 굉장히 'generic'한 디자인. 어떤 이의 말처럼 '아무 박물관에나 갖다 붙여도 될 법한 매우 일반적인 디자인'이다.
심지어는 애플리케이션의 예도 그다지 인상적이지 않다. 

폴라 셰어의 이전 디자인의 메아리가 한참 뒤에 다시 들려오는 것 같기도 하고...
이제 정말 획기적인 디자인이란 건 없는 걸까....? 새로운 '스타일'이란 건 이제 더 이상 존재하지 않는 건가? 
이미 나올만한 획기적인 디자인은 다 나온 건가? 몇 년 후에 또 뭔가 굉장히 색다르고 획기적인 게 나오는 걸까???? 
똥똥한 서체가 참 별로 안 좋아지는 것도 개취라고 밖엔...ㅋㅋㅋ 

똥똥하더라도 보기 좋은 서체도 많던데 어째 요건 정이 안 가요, 안 가~~~

The new Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum wordmark, set in the new Cooper Hewitt typeface.
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum today announces a new name and graphic identity, custom typeface and website to accompany the expansion of the museum, which will open to the public on December 12. Designed by Pentagram’s Eddie Opara and team, the bold identity establishes a flexible branding system for the museum. Opara’s customized characters for the wordmark have been fully developed into a new typeface, Cooper Hewitt, created by Chester Jenkins of Village in collaboration with Pentagram.

Opara and his team worked closely with Cooper Hewitt and Jenkins to develop the identity. Located in the historic Andrew Carnegie Mansion in New York, Cooper Hewitt is part of the Smithsonian Institution, the group of 19 museums and galleries administered by the U.S. government. In a first, the new Cooper Hewitt identity has been conceived as a design that truly belongs to the people: The identity also exists as a new typeface that will be made available free to the public, who are encouraged to utilize it in their own designs. The font has also been acquired for the museum’s permanent collection.

“We are spreading good design by making our elegant new typeface, Cooper Hewitt, available as a free download on cooperhewitt.org, as well as collecting it as an important example of the design process,” says Cooper Hewitt director Caroline Baumann. “We look forward to seeing how the public uses this new design tool in their lives.”
Opara also helped develop the museum’s new name. Formerly the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, the new name replaces “National” with “Smithsonian” and eliminates the hyphen, simplifying the brand while emphasizing its heritage.

Animation demonstrating the scalability of the new Cooper Hewitt typeface.
Iconic, engaging and highly functional, the new Cooper Hewitt wordmark forms a perfect rectangle that can easily be scaled, positioned and colorized without losing its strong visual presence. There is an intriguing relationship between the words “COOPER” and “HEWITT” in the new identity: Set normally, the words are different widths. Here, each character has been tailored to help define the overall typographic frame. The wordmark has been expressly designed to serve as the basis for a wide variety of uses.

“Cooper Hewitt’s new identity plays it straight, with no play on visual or theoretical complexity, no puzzling contradiction or ambiguity, no distracting authorship,” says Opara. “Function is its primary goal, and ultimately the logo is i-portant, but not as i-portant as what the museum does.”
The new Cooper Hewitt wordmark will be accompanied by the signature “Smithsonian Design Museum,” which uses the Smithsonian’s existing identity, designed by Chermayeff and Geismar in 1997 and set in the contrasting serif typeface Minion Pro.

The existing Cooper Hewitt identity.

The new wordmark provides a strong anchor for various sub-brands.

The identity establishes a flexible branding system for the museum.

Guidelines for the placement of the Smithsonian Design Museum signature, which uses the Smithsonian's existing identity.

The Cooper Hewitt typeface is a contemporary sans serif with characters comprised of modified geometric curves and arches. The font evolved from a customization of Galaxie Polaris Condensedthat Opara originally commissioned for the identity. Jenkins designed a new, purely digital form built on the structure of Polaris. The new font is redrawn from scratch, using the existing forms of Polaris as a rough guide.

Cooper Hewitt will be available as a free download as installable fonts, web font files, and open source code on cooperhewitt.org. Widely used across all Cooper Hewitt media and collateral—from object labels to the museum website—the unique font will become closely associated with its namesake.

Comparison of the final wordmark in the Cooper Hewitt typeface with the existing fonts Galaxie Polaris Condensed Heavy, top, and Galaxie Polaris Semi-Condensed Heavy, center. Comparison of the final logotype with the Cooper Hewitt Heavy typeface, above.

Comparison of letterforms in the existing Galaxie Polaris Semi-Condensed and the new Cooper Hewitt (in Medium weight). Cyan letters are Galaxie Polaris Semi-Condensed; magenta letters are Cooper Hewitt.

Comparison of the typefaces in the full alphabet.

Opara and his team have also redesigned the Cooper Hewitt website with a modular format that complements the physical transformation of museum and serves the expanding digital needs of the institution. Optimized for mobile devices, the design makes Cooper Hewitt’s activities, collections, programs and content easily accessible to visitors. The site, currently in beta, is being implemented in WordPress by Matcha Labs, in conjunction with the museum’s in-house digital team. Opara and his team have also created an extensive collateral systems for the various museum departments, including membership, education and the shop.

Pentagram’s Michael Gericke and his team are currently developing signage and wayfinding based on the new identity, to be introduced with the museum’s reopening in November. The revitalization of the museum includes a major expansion and renovation developed in collaboration by Gluckman Mayner Architects and executive architect Beyer Blinder Belle, with Diller Scofidio + Renfro designing some exhibitions, the museum store and the 90th Street entrance. Opara and his team are collaborating with Cooper Hewitt on the exhibition graphics and have developed an innovative new labeling system that utilizes a revolutionary interactive Pen for a unique visitor experience.

Project Team
Identity: Eddie Opara, partner-in-charge and designer; Ken Deegan, designer. Cooper Hewitt typeface designed by Chester Jenkins at Village.
Website: Eddie Opara, partner-in-charge and designer; Ken Deegan and Frank LaRocca, designers. Development by Matcha Labs.
Environmental Graphics: Michael Gericke, partner-in-charge and designer; Don Bilodeau, associate and designer; Elizabeth Kim, designer.

<새로운 아이덴티티를 적용한 쿠퍼 휴잇 박물관 웹사이트>

o_o 난 솔직히 이거 보고 좀 충격... 그냥 내가 보는 눈이 없는 걸로...