A REFLECTION OF WILLUMSEN’S SPIRIT

TitleA REFLECTION OF WILLUMSEN’S SPIRIT
BrandWILLUMSEN'S MUSEUM
Product/ServiceMUSEUM FOR THE ARTIST J.F. WILLUMSEN
Category A02. Rebrand / Refresh of an existing Brand
Entrant IDNA GROUP Copenhagen, DENMARK
Idea Creation IDNA GROUP Copenhagen, DENMARK
Credits
Name Company Position
Per Madsen IDna Group Creative Director & founder
Daniel Siim IDna Group Designer
Anne-Mette Højland IDna Group CEO & founder
Christian Brænder IDna Group Senior Artworker
Lars Preiland IDna Group Senior Artworker
Lisbeth Schrøder IDna Group Account Director
Elias Werner Freelance Type designer

Background

Willumsen’s Museum is a so-called single-artist museum, which means that it may suffer from a common perception of being a static and permanent exhibition. And being located outside Copenhagen, and with J.F Willumsen not being one of our most well-known artists, was a challenge for the museum. There was a need for change, and a need to signal that the museum embraces both tradition and renewal, the permanent and the dynamic. Following a new strategy for the museum, the changes should be manifested in a visual identity embracing the new roadmap for the museum; being to exhibit world-class art in the spirit of Willumsen – allowing other artists to exist and interact side-by-side with Willumsen – presented in his spirit. In other words, all works, and all exhibitions, should now always be presented as a reflection of Willumsen’s thinking, approach and spirit.

Describe the creative idea (40% of vote)

This new approach to Willumsen’s works inspired us to create the underlying concept in the new visual identity; A Reflection. The reflection is a metaphor for the role which the museum has now, being to introduce the spirit of Willumsen – not only to the visitors at the museum in Frederikssund, Denmark, but also to the world. This reflection, or mirroring, is now seen in the logo, where the W for Willumsen is shown in reflection as a M for Museum. This reflection is also used in the new imagery, for instance where Willumsen’s portrait or his art is ‘morphed’ together with other artists’ works to make Willumsen present at all times.

Describe the execution (40% of vote)

The primary colours of the identity are black and white, and to make Willumsen visibly present in the identity, the secondary colours derive from his own works. We have carefully selected a number of his works and have extracted colours from there, creating a wild and vivid palette for further communication. As a result of the decision to create room for other artists at the museum, we experienced a need to give Willumsen a more visible role, and thus we integrated selected quotes and portraits to make him ever-present throughout the visual identity. The identity has been widely unfolded from the web to posters and stationery, and as the museum is a rather ‘closed’ building, it was important for us to place the art on the outside of the museum, enabling us to create awareness of the artist and museum and thereby build a brand while

List the results (20% of vote)

With the new design, the museum now has a visual identity that expresses the spirit of the artist himself, while supporting the new strategy of making room for other artists in Willumsen’s spirit. Furthermore, the art is now on the outside of the building, making the artist, the museum and the exhibitions all visible to everyone in the area, while holding an identity that enables the museum to build brand awareness and recognisability – assisting them in attracting more visitors. As the museum is owned and funded by the Municipality of Frederikssund, representatives from the municipality were involved in the process, resulting in a closer relationship between the museum and the owner while creating an increased visibility around the value that the museum creates for the municipality, for instance in terms of attracting new citizens and entering new partnerships.