The museum’s wordmark is set in Humanist 970, a font that is based on Doric, a very early sans serif released by the Stephenson Blake Foundry in 1816. As with other fonts released during this time period, it is organic and imperfect in nature, creating a characterful letter set. The secondary font is Amira, a contemporary addition, that has a graphic, woodcut-feel closer to the traditional visual language of gardens.
A key focus while developing the identity was to create a system that could flex and scale based on the audience. The bold wordmark can live on its own strongly when required but also quickly become inviting and lively when the shapes and illustrations start to come into play. This is particularly useful for the museum's event series, which in certain instances needs to be a more subtle application of the identity while in others it needs to strongly demonstrate the culture and energy of the institution.
In addition to creating the Garden Museum's visual identity, Pentagram redesigned the website, signage and other collateral for the space. The website is both appealing and informative, marrying the decorative nature of the identity with a simple and functional user experience. With a similar mindset, a unique signage system combines straightforward wayfinding information with illustrations, creating a visually engaging and informative guide around the museum.