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  "path": "/uses/73911/philadelphia-museum-of-art-identity",
  "publishedAt": "2026-06-03T08:28:47.000Z",
  "site": "https://fontsinuse.com",
  "tags": [
    "gretelny.com",
    "Philadelphia Museum of Art",
    "Gretel",
    "Shatter",
    "Cooper Black",
    "Balloon",
    "ITC Pioneer",
    "The Time is Always Now",
    "Purple Haze",
    "PMA Members",
    "Megazoid",
    "PMA Kids",
    "Fairmount Serif",
    "Ryan Bugden",
    "Hess Neobold",
    "Sol Hess",
    "Frederic Goudy",
    "Lanston Monotype",
    "Klarheit Grotesk",
    "Gretel’s case study",
    "Fonts In Use"
  ],
  "textContent": "Contributed by Ryan Bugden\n\n\n _**Source: gretelny.com **Gretel. License: All Rights Reserved. _\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe Philadelphia Museum of Art, in collaboration with design studio Gretel, rebuilt its identity with the goal of putting the institution in direct conversation with the city that surrounds it. Typography is the primary device for achieving this. The type palette mainly works on two levels: outside-and-inside, or community-and-institution.\n\nInspired by Philadelphia’s rich visual texture of storefronts, street vendors, and murals, the vernacular type palette brings the voice of Philly into the museum and injects the identity system with contrast and spontaneity. The current library is curated (exemplified by the likes of **Shatter** , **Cooper Black** , and **Balloon**), but it is designed to continue growing over time. Each of these display typefaces can be used on various seasonal activations, or specifically assigned to exhibitions or departmental roles. **ITC Pioneer** was used for the recent exhibition The Time is Always Now, a survey of contemporary Black and African diasporic figurative art. **Purple Haze** is the designated typeface for PMA Members, and **Megazoid** is used for PMA Kids.\n\nOn the other hand, the institutional typographic voice serves an evergreen role: echoing the museum’s classical character while embodying Philadelphia’s industrial sensibility. The core typeface, **Fairmount Serif** —named for the Fairmount neighborhood—was custom-drawn by Ryan Bugden after a study of Philadelphia’s typographic history. Searching for a balance between the industrial structure of 1930s American sans-serifs and a classical features brought Hess Neobold forward as a key reference. Its designer Sol Hess attended PMSIA—the precursor to the museum—and later succeeded Frederic Goudy as Philadelphia-based Lanston Monotype’s type director. Fairmount Serif evolves the Hess Neobold model while incorporating more contemporaneous industrial cues. It remains relatively neutral alongside the museum’s broad palette of display faces while providing a distinct, authoritative voice of its own. Fairmount Serif was also used as a starting point in rendering the various institutional logos.\n\nFor the more workhorse level, **Klarheit Grotesk** serves as the museum’s body text typeface. It is set at small sizes across branding, materials, signage, and exhibition text.\n\nSee more images in Gretel’s case study.\n\n\n\n\n_**Source: gretelny.com **Gretel. License: All Rights Reserved. _\n\n\n_**Source: gretelny.com **Gretel. License: All Rights Reserved. _\n\n\n\nMockups of exhibition catalogs\n\n\n\n\n _**Source: gretelny.com **Gretel. License: All Rights Reserved. _\n\n\n_**Source: gretelny.com **Gretel. License: All Rights Reserved. _\n\n\n_**Source: gretelny.com **Gretel. License: All Rights Reserved. _\n\n\n_**Source: gretelny.com **Gretel. License: All Rights Reserved. _\n\n\n\nBanners.\n\n\n\n\n_**Source: gretelny.com **Gretel. License: All Rights Reserved. _\n\n\n\nSeasonal program.\n\n\n\n\n_**Source: gretelny.com **Gretel. License: All Rights Reserved. _\n\n\n_**Source: gretelny.com **Gretel. License: All Rights Reserved. _\n\n\n_**Source: gretelny.com **Gretel. License: All Rights Reserved. _\n\nThis post was originally published at Fonts In Use\n\n* * *",
  "title": "Philadelphia Museum of Art identity"
}