Alan
Moon



Museo Galileo

Branding and Identity, Rebrand

Spring 2025
Branding and Identity
InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator

The Museo Galileo is a historical museum in Florence dedicated to its namesake, Galileo Galilei, that boasts a large collection of valuable scientific instruments from the Medici and Lorraine dynasties. The museum includes instruments from Galileo and showcases his pivotal role in astronomy along with the scientific advancements made by the Tuscans and Italians throughout the 18th–19th centuries



The Rebrand aThe museum currently has a solid logo, built around the shape of one of Galileo’s sketches of stars and planets forming the letter ‘g’. However, the identity of the museum does not extend beyond this logo, with only some books and the tickets showcasing the logo. I decided to give the museum some new life, introducing a flexible identity system that  encapsulates the themes and instruments within the museum.



ResearchaThe research into the museum began with initial research about Galileo and the history of the museum before moving onto an on-site visit. The visit revealed a lot about the exhibitions of the museum, particularly the geometry and usage of triangles and circles throughout the instruments.





IdeationaThe visit to the museum provided a lot of direction for the way that the logo and identity system would go. Two of the instruments in the museum, the compass and astrolabe, caught my attention both for its geometrical shape as well as the symmetry and relationship between triangles and circles. I went through many concepts of how the geometry of the instruments and the instruments themselves could become a part of the logo and system before landing on my final iteration.

a


Initial LogoaAfter some initial sketches and ideation, I felt that I was in a good place to begin finalizing the logo and design system. I chose a direction I thought would work throughout the project and began refining it.

However, I began to run into some problems while working on the initial logo and system. I was focusing entirely too much on making a cool logo while ignoring how that logo would be able to be integrated into the system. I was pigeon-holing myself by only solely focusing on one element and not viewing the entire system as a whole, and I began to feel myself desperately trying things that I knew would not work.\

Going into the midterm critique, I was not confident in my current design direction, and was looking forward to hearing some feedback in order to be able to reset and finish strong with the project.



Refined LogoaAfter a rough and eye-opening critique, I started from the ground up again—no longer focusing on creating a “cool” logo but looking at the list of words that I had written down to describe my vision for the museum. I focused on the simple things that I knew I wanted to include in the system: the instruments and the geometry found throughout to construct not just a logo, but a system. I took all the feedback that I had received up to that point to bring my original vision to life, not being stubborn in my first few directions that I knew had no promise.

The main logo is made of 8 compasses, all symmetrical to each other, to form a complete circle mimicking the way that compasses drawing circles. While this was an initial ideation, I thought the logo was a great starting point for a refined system to come.




Typography aAfter some tests of different geometric typefaces, I landed on Century Gothic Pro for both its geometric forms, mimicking the instruments of the museum and its unique ‘M’ shape—one that reminded me of two compasses together


Color aThe color palette used for the rebrand is relatively simple, inspired by the brass of the instruments as well as the deep blue of the sky viewed by the astronomers.

Elements aThe system kept the elements of the logo, mainly the circle and the triangle, while I utilized the symmetry more in the final deliverables.
Objective aThe overall objective with the deliverables and final rebrand of this project was not just to create an identity system that utilized these elements, but one that emphasized the themes of the museum. The use of symmetry with the elements and type reminds the viewer of the mathematical precision and geometry that were at the core of these instruments and discoveries.


Final System a






Reflections In completing this project, I felt that I have learned so much about design than any other project before. Especially after faltering during the middle of this project, I was able to understand and delve into the process and research phases more in-depth than I have before. Design is not just about creating a cool piece to display, it’s about the process and understanding how to create pieces that are able to display emotions and character. 

© 2024 Alan Moon