People & Purpose
The Houston Museum District is one of the most highly concentrated cultural areas in the world. Founded in 1987, HMD has played an iconic role in Houston’s transformation from a Texas oil town into a center of commerce, creativity, and innovation. HMD members include 21 institutions that range widely in terms of size, scope, and focus area—engaging audiences through art, history, literature, science, spirituality, and much more.
Services
- Verbal Identity
- Visual Identity
- Writing
- Website Design
- Brand Guidelines
Partners
- Kudos NYC
- Ivan Cortez
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Over the last few years, in response to shifts in public funding for the arts, HMD reexamined its core function, an internal process that naturally necessitated the need for a new brand to breathe life into the organization’s renewed vision and next chapter.
Partnering with HMD in this work was an exercise in perceiving the cultural vibrancy just beyond our studio door with fresh eyes and full hearts for the city we love.
Our north stars for HMD’s new brand identity were agility (to reflect the breadth of its member institutions) and boldness (to convey the members’ awe-inspiring impact).
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A composition of geometric lines—city streets in the form of Houston’s leading letter, H—surround the Houston Museum District logotype. The mark is a nod to the district as a community, a neighborhood, a destination.
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Negative space plays an important role in the logotype. Across applications, it can be used as a variable to open the wordmark and allow space for supporting typography, imagery, and elements specific to the district’s members. Figuratively, it speaks to space for limitless possibilities, imagination, and inspiration.
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A bold, bright blue pays homage to the blue mosaic tiles that have identified Houston’s city streets for over 100 years. The remainder of the palette was derived from selected photography of HMD’s leafy, 9-square-mile neighborhood—dusty purple and blue from the sky above Rice University’s James Turrell Twilight Epiphany Skyspace at sunset; rich green from McGovern Centennial Gardens across from the Houston Museum of Natural Science, stone and bronze to echo sculptural work found at institutions across the District.
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Easy to navigate on the website and in the printed brochure, an updated map underscores HMD’s distinctiveness and the rich offerings of its members, piquing the curiosity of visitors and inspiring them to explore.
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