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.

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 Rebrand a






© 2024 Alan Moon