    Project name
MIT Museum graphic identity and business papers
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Background
The MIT Museum had a new mission and a new director and was about to launch an extensive building renovation. It needed a graphic image to symbolize its revitalized identity.
The PSB role
A partnership existed between the Museum and PSB that was characterized by good communication and favorable design results, so this project seemed to be a good fit for the design staff of PSB. Another factor for PSB in deciding to use in-house staff for this project was the importance of the Museum as one of a handful of "front door" organizations at MIT that give the public its first experience at the Institute. PSB has typically chosen its in-house design projects based on how the project relates to the larger MIT graphic identity. MIT Museum is a natural subset of the larger MIT identity, and working on the Museum's identity project gave the PSB designers a chance to research ideas that could be applied to other identity projects at the Institute. The project also provided PSB with an opportunity to define best practices for its future clients and design vendors.
The design process for the new graphic identity began with a definition of the Museum's values, mission, and audience. PSB and the Museum developed a project brief of terms and definitions to guide the work of the design team. While the designers sketched ideas, they were able to refer to the phrases and adjectives listed in the project brief. These verbal definitions of the Museum's vision were the criteria against which the designers—and eventually the Museum—tested the design explorations. After the design team generated the first set of sketches, it worked with the Museum to edit those explorations and single out designs that were appropriate to the Museum's mission and showed promise as a graphic embodiment of the Museum's identity. Through this dialogue, the Museum and design team were able to collectively steer the design process in the right direction and ultimately settle on a design that suited the Museum's needs.
In the case of the MIT Museum graphic identity project, the Museum's staff was experienced enough to do most of the groundwork for the project brief on its own. However, if this is unfamiliar territory for an organization, PSB and the selected design vendor can facilitate this process.
PSB secured print bids, supplied the Museum with electronic Word templates, and helped to manage the representation of the identity on other communications projects.
Results
The typographic treatment for the Museum's graphic identity is modern, bold, and fresh, with small surprises in the letterforms that, upon closer inspection, reveal themselves like objects in an exhibition. The new graphic identity was applied to the production and printing of stationery and business cards and used in the Museum's publications. In much the same way that the Museum's mission gave direction in the design brief, the new logotype informs staff and visitors of the Museum's new direction.
Vendor team
Design: Publishing Services Bureau
Printing: Arlington Lithograph
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