The Victoria and Albert Museum

The logo for the Victoria and Albert museum is beautifully simple, but not powerful enough for a museum of this caliber.  The logo uses serif font to display the first letter of the names in the title linked by an ampersand character.  The logo is unique in the fact that it only displays the first letter of each name expecting viewers to know the museum.  The font used is elegant and simple, yet artistic because the sizes of the stems on each symbol vary.  The left part of the A is also missing and the crossbar is formed by the ampersand, but the font is easily legible.  The logo is open and airy like many of the areas in the museum with tall ceilings.  However, the simplicity of the logo understates the museum's collections.  The colors in the logo are often muted or bland, such as whites and dark reds.  The logo should give passerby a taste of the objects in the museum, mirroring an object's colors or patterns.  Since the logo only features three characters, it cannot take up a lot of room on banners or promotional materials.  This lessens the impact it has on viewers because it is naturally small compared to other words or pictures.  The logo could be bolder if it featured the full title of the museum while retaining the artistry of the current logo.

The Cast Courts were overwhelming due to their sheer size.  Trajan's Column was enormous and had immense detail on every inch of the column.  Some of the original artworks must have taken years to create.  I liked the objects from Northern Europe and Spain more than the ones from Italy because the colors made them even more impressive.  The objects were featured in a large room with high ceilings and Trajan's Column in the middle.  I think this added to the experience because it created an ominous, awe-inspired feeling, especially when walking past many of the tombs with the deceased carved into the top.  This collection can help visitors see a wide range of impressive statues and architecture without having to visit each of the individual places where these works of art are located.  Many of the carvings on the tombs can indicate common style and dress at the time the piece was created.  Figures carved on tombs were probably wealthy and can help historians learn about the ruling class. Images on columns and archways illustrate biblical scenes and stories.  For example, the carvings on Trajan's Column illustrate battles and conquests during the time of his reign.

I think the icons and symbols in the Isotype exhibit have more personality than the international system of signs because they are more colorful and represent a wider array of objects.  Many of the charts were used to illustrate different groups of people based on their health, education or origin.  The symbols also represented objects other than people, such as the tractors pictured above relating to tractor production in the USSR.  Although many of the symbols are not meant to be comical, they appear amusing because of their illustrations.  For example, the center picture shows a person who is spreading tuberculosis germs as a faceless figure with sun-like rays sprouting from their head.  The symbols, especially the ones featured in the children's book covers use bright, illuminating colors such as red, yellow and green.  Many icons in the international system of signs are often black or white on bland backgrounds.  Like the international system, the faces and people in the objects of the exhibit do not show emotion or mood.  I think pictures and text are a more efficient way of communicating to a wide array of people because they are universally understood.  Although text is necessary to decipher specific pictures or provide a scale of what each symbol represents, pictures and text make it easier for people to comprehend an overall situation and spot patterns in information.

The first picture is tile from the tomb of a descendant of the prophet Muhammad.  The second picture is a reproduction of the grille around Queen Eleanor of Castile's tomb in Westminster Abbey.  Each of the tiles has a slightly different pattern and color.  The patterns illustrate nature imagery, such as flowers, leaves and vines.  The colors are all earth tones, such as variances of red, brown and yellow.  The shapes of the tiles are crosses and octagonal stars.  Each tile fits together with the ones around it like pieces of a puzzle.  The pattern doesn't have any sharp corners or edges.  All the shapes are soft and rounded.  Each tile has scripture from the Qur'an outlining the pattern.  All of the tiles have a central picture, a flower-like image, and all of the other pictures spread out from the center image.  These pieces of tile evoke a calm and serene feeling.  There are no harsh shapes and the images and colors are calming.
  The grille evokes a colder, distant feeling.  It is all one color, black, and has spikes on top.  These spikes are all different, some have arrows on top of the spikes and others do not.  Since they are gathered in three prongs, they evoke pitchfork imagery and warning.  However, below these prongs, the grille is beautiful.  It also does not have any harsh corners or points and the pattern in each rectangle is different from the previous one.  The patterns include nature imagery of flowers and vines and also include swirls and circles.  Unlike the tiles, the grille is not flat, but rather curves outward as it nears the top, making it more prominent.
  It is interesting that although both of these items were used for caskets or tombs, they do not contain any death or afterlife pictures or imagery.

From "Museums: Branding and History."

The London Underground seems sophisticated in logo design and efficiency than the Madison Metro.  The logo for the Underground is bold and easily distinguishable.  It combines a strong red with a royal blue to make a round, target-like shape illustrating the exact location of bus and tube stops.  The Madison Metro logo seems weaker and more indecisive.  It combines the primary colors red, blue and yellow, which give the logo a juvenile image.  The letter m is repeated above the word Metro. But because it’s in the same font as the letter m in metro, it is unclear whether it is to emphasize the m in the word metro or to indicate Madison.  The Metro in Madison also isn’t as efficient as the Underground in London.  There is no subway system in Madison, only buses, and from my personal experience they are not as reliable as the subway system and buses in London.  Additionally, double-decker buses in London add to the efficiency of the transportation system because they take up the same space on the road as normal buses, but offer a convenient second level for additional passengers.

This item is the "Stemma of René of Anjou" from 1466-78.  The item is a coat of arms made for Jacopo de' Pazzi.  It displays René of Anjou's coat of arms in the center and the motto "dardent desir" or "burning desire."  The coat of arms includes a suit of armor helmet with dragon-like wings coming from it.  There are also pots of fire on either side of the coat of arms.  Surrounding the outside of the piece are vines with leaves and lemons.  This object initially caught my eye because of its size and bright colors.  Usually a coat of arms has reds and blues or silver and gold, but this one has bright yellow and green mixed with purple.  I really like the dragon wings in the center that alternate purple and yellow.  I found it amusing that fruit on the outside of the piece surrounded the coat of arms in the center.  I like the overall design of the piece and would go back to see it again.

The Science Museum

The logo for London's Science Museum is comprised of all capital, sans serif lettering.  It utilizes cut corners and disconnected appendages.  Each of the two words are split in half so as to fit on four lines instead of one or two so the logo creates a rectangular shape.  Although the logo catches people's attention because of its unique letter distribution, it is hard to read.  The letter styling is inconsistent, with the first 'E' missing its spine, and the subsequent two having spines.  The letters are blue on a white background.  The Science Museum caters to families and children in particular with its hands-on, interactive exhibits.  The inside of the museum, as well as all related paperwork, includes bright colors, such as turquoise, hot pink, bright orange, lime green and purple.  But the logo is harsh, lacking any rounded corners or vibrant colors.  The white background of the logo seems sterile and uninviting, while the blue used for the lettering is muted and boring.  Although the sterility of the background may align with the traditional view of science, it does not attract children, the primary museum audience.  The shape of the letters in the logo is unique and original, like many of the exhibits in the museum, but its minimalism and illegibility do not function to extend the museum's inviting and child-friendly atmosphere.

The museum paths and exhibits are clearly marked with colorful signs that include large lettering and arrows.  Exhibits are clearly market with title walls, including themed arches over the door to the exhibit.  There are several paths to get to many of the exhibits and they are all indicated by signs and arrows.  The colors on the signs are bright, such as electric blue and yellow, matching the rest of the upbeat interior.  The map is easy to read and includes numerous picture symbols and keys.  Each floor on the map has a different color background that helps illustrate different areas and exhibits.  However, some of the exhibits on either end of the museum on the upper floors are difficult to find because they require the use of specific elevators or stairwells.  For example, to get to the fourth and fifth floors, a visitor must get to the third floor and then transfer to a specific central elevator or stairwell to ascend.  This is clear once you reach the third floor and see signs for these exact elevators.  However, on the first two floors of the museum, no signs indicate why the elevators do not go beyond the third floor.

All of the signs, maps and handouts are attention-grabbing and interesting for children to look at, but the stairwells lack originality.  They are generic and could be found in any normal building.  The museum should carry their exhibits or at least their use of bright colors throughout the stairwell so visitors can continue their unique experience when traveling between exhibits.

The cafes and shops help extend the brand of the Science Museum by featuring colorful signs and kid-friendly menu items and eating areas.  The downstairs cafe is a well-lit, bright, clearly marked area indicated by a large orange menu sign.  The menu items appeal to both children and adults attending the museum, including sandwiches, desserts, lemonade and coffee.  The font in the cafe is unique, like the logo, but much easier to read because it has continuously connected letters.  The purchasing areas are easy to maneuver and separated into food categories.  The eating areas accommodate large numbers of people and are easy to clean, which allow children to roam more freely and be less inhibited.  The shops use the same text as the cafes, a friendly, more-rounded letter compared to the museum's logo.  The shop helps extend the brand of the museum because it appeals to all types of visitors and includes many products that feature the museum's name and logo.  The shop has educational toys for kids and objects that can be tested in the store, such as bouncy balls and boomerangs.  The store also has items that appeal to adults, such as static-free laundry inserts and books.  The museum shop contains items with the museum's logo which acts as free advertising for the museum and an extension of the brand to anyone who sees the item out of the confines of the museum.

Display cases throughout the museum generally function as protection.  When an item is completely enclosed in glass it's because it is smaller and more detailed or fragile so it must be viewed up close but should not be touched.  When items are larger but cannot be touched, they are generally kept behind short iron railings.  Items enclosed in glass have placards inside the glass case whereas objects behind iron railings generally have text panels with more elaborate descriptions and pictures in front of the railing.  Items behind short railings are more inviting because there is not an obvious separation between the exhibit piece and the viewer.  However, items behind railings are generally farther away from the visitor than items inside glass cases.  Items in glass cases are inches behind the glass, as opposed to feet behind railings, and can be examined closely and in detail.  Items not enclosed in any way are the most interesting because the visitor can experience and use the item and therefore establish a greater connection to it.

Iron Lung

I was surprised by how much there was to see at the Science Museum.  The exhibits varied greatly in their subject matter ranging from innovations in fashion to equipment used in ancient Mesopotamian medicine.  The exhibit that stood out most was one called "Health Matters," featuring innovations in medical technology during the 1900s.  The colors in the exhibit were muted red, green and purple backgrounds with white text.  The exhibit featured a lot of interesting textual information, but it was so dark inside the room, the text was hard to read.  The exhibit was small compared to the medical exhibits on the upper floors because it featured a few larger machines over numerous smaller objects.  It was easy to follow the exhibit because it was a single path with objects on both sides.  Many of the exhibits had instructional voices that would all speak at the same time so you could not hear a single one clearly.
 The sheer amount of text in the exhibit paired with the lack of light made it difficult to discern much of the text.  However, this was my favorite exhibit in the museum based on content.  I was amazed by how much medical technology had advanced in such a short amount of time.  One machine called the "iron lung" (captioned above), breathed for people who had become paralyzed due to polio.  The machine was made by car factories between 1938-1950 and required people to spend their entire lives in them because they could not survive outside of the machine.  These machines were replaced by ones that allowed people to live more normal lives and eventually by the polio vaccine, but our grandparents and some of our parents were alive when iron lung was being used.  This particular exhibit resonated with me because many of the diseases the machines treated were ones my generation had never experienced.  It was also interesting to compare the sizes of the machines in the exhibit with similar machines today.  Many of the machines were heavy and cumbersome, while many machines today are light and flexible.

The fashion exhibit was also interesting because I did not know there was an industry revolving around using recycled materials and trash to design more environmentally-friendly or biodegradable fashion.  I also just thought this dress looked really cool.
 I found this experience amusing because I had never before visited a museum and paid attention to consistency between the museum's mission, branding, exhibits and signage.  I did not realize how hard it would be to keep up a brand, especially in places like bathrooms and stairwells that are often frequented by patrons but ignored by exhibit designers.