A new visual identity
for the International
Council of Museums
Concept book
Intentions
More than just a network, ICOM is a true community. Created in
the aftermath of the Second World War, the International Council
of Museums is originally thought as an international organisation
for museums. 70 years after its creation in the Louvre, ICOM
settled a large network throughout its 113 National Committees
and 31 International Committees, and positioned itself as the
only actor which represents the museum community worldwide.
Thanks to the strength of its brand, ICOM gathered up to 35.000
members in 135 countries, and is now recognized as a reference
by official authorities and heritage stakeholders.
Thanks to its networks, its worldwide database and its leading
publications, ICOM has reached a global recognition as a
key-player for museum professionals. However, the organisation
must now cope with the growth of its membership, and challenge
the commitment of its members, as well as the visibility of its
actions in a much more difficult global context.
The Milano General Conference and the current work on ICOM’s
statutes and strategic plan offer an opportunity for the organimade
sation to set up a new genuine identity. This identity is
must
be
assimilated
by each
every
member,
regardless
of his
working
to
be assimilated
by and
every
every
member,
member,
regardless
regardless
of
of his
their
working
working
background, language or culture. The upcoming system must
facilitate the work of ICOM’s committees and volunteers on the
field while being strong enough to avoid alteration.
Our approach was to look for a graphic element that would be
a synthesis of ICOM’s values, as enhanced in the new ICOM’s
strategic plan : independence, integrity and professionalism. This
symbol must be global, largely understandable and fit all cultures
and beliefs. We like to imagine this symbol as a rallying cry. It
has to gather a strong community, which commit to improve and
stand for museums, rather than a disparate sum of individuals.
Going straight to what is essential, the new ICOM’s identity
gathers the strengths and expresses the role of the organisation.
The monogram stands solidly. It is stable and trustworthy, a
little monumental; but also modern enough to be future driven.
It also embodies intelligence and creation.
We now invite you to discover this identity.
International Council of Museums
22 rue de Palestro - 75002 Paris
ICOM visual identity
International Council of Museums
Concept book
May 2016
3
I. The concept
c-album
Graphic design studio
50, rue du Faubourg du Temple
75011 Paris France
Tel +33 1 56 08 37 70
[email protected]
4
International Council of Museums
22 rue de Palestro - 75002 Paris
ICOM visual identity
International Council of Museums
Concept book
May 2016
5
The word “museum” around the world
An overall look
An overall look of the word “museum” translated in various
languages highlights the linguistic root [MUS]
‫متحف‬
संग्रहालय
Haitian Creole
Nepalese
Irish
Panjabi
French
Persian
Basque
Tamil
Finnish
Telugu
Spanish
Thai
Galician
Urdu
Italian
Yiddish
Tagalog
AMGUEDDFA
Afrikaans
GIDAN KAYAN
German
GARGAJIYA
MAKUMBUSHO
ΜΟΥΣΕΙΟ
mataf
թանգարան Saṅgrahālaya
संग्रहालय
Armenian
t’angaran
যাদুঘর
Saṅgrahālaya
ਮਿਊਜ਼ੀਅਮ
Bengali
Yādughara
博物馆
Bówùguǎn
博物館
Bówùguǎn
박물관
bagmulgwan
მუზეუმი
muzeumi
Mi’ūzī’ama
મ્યુઝિયમ
‫מוזיאון‬
Gujarati
संग्रहालय
Hebrew
Saṅgrahālaya
博物館
Hakubutsukan
ಮ್ಯೂಸಿಯಂ
ພິ
ພທ
ິ ະພັ
ນ
Kannada
phi phi thaphan
കാഴ്ചബംഗ്ലാവ്
kāḻcabaṅglāv
c-album
Graphic design studio
మ్యూజియం
Myūjiyaṁ
พิพธ
ิ ภัณฑ์
Phiphiṭhp ̣ hạṇṯh̒
‫میوزیم‬
Yādughara
‫מוזיי‬
Yādughara
Welsh
Hausa
Swahili
Greek
Lao
Indonesian
MÚSAEM
MUSÉE
MUSEOA
English
Cebuano 
Danish
Javanese
Dutch
Norwegian
MUSEO
Aruṅkāṭciyakam
Hindi
Japanese
Myūsiyaṁ
அருங்காட்சியகம்
Korean
Georgian
Myujhiyama
‫موزه‬
Simplified
Chinese
Traditional
Chinese
MIZE
Marathi
Arabic
MUSEO
MUSEO
MUSEO
Swedish
Somali
Zulu
Portuguese
MUSEO
Romanian
MUSEUM
MUSEUM
Catalan
Sesotho
MUSEUM
MUSEUM
MUSEUM
Yoruba
Sudanese
Estonian
MUSEUM
MUSEUM
MUSEUM
MUSEUM
MUSEUM
Slovenian MUZEJ
MUSEUM
MUSEUM
Esperanto MUZEO
MUSEU
MUSEU
MUSEU
MUSIAMO
MUSIỌMU
MUSIUM
MUUSEUM
Albanese
Turkish
Bosnian
Croatian
Latvian
Czech
Polish
Slovak
Hungarian
Maltese
Azeri
Uzbek
MUZE
Lithuanian
MÜZE
MUZIEJUS
Malaysian MUZIUM
MUZEJ
MUZEJ
Serbian
Macedonian
МУЗЕЈ
МУЗЕЈ
Byelorussian МУЗЕЙ
MUZEJS
Bulgarian
Russian
МУЗЕЙ
МУЗЕЙ
MUZEUM
MUZEUM
Ukrainian МУЗЕЙ
MÚZEUM
Mongolian МУЗЕЙ
MÚZEUM
MUŻEW
MUZEY
MUZEY
Tajik
Kazakh
Igbo
Icelandic
Maori
МУЗЕЙ
МҰРАЖАЙ
NGOSI NKA
SAFNIð
TAONGA
Malayalam
50, rue du Faubourg du Temple
75011 Paris France
Tel +33 1 56 08 37 70
[email protected]
6
International Council of Museums
22 rue de Palestro - 75002 Paris
ICOM visual identity
International Council of Museums
Concept book
May 2016
7
The M
The common initial
When all these translations are superposed, the most common
root appears. The letter M can embody the full term
c-album
Graphic design studio
50, rue du Faubourg du Temple
75011 Paris France
Tel +33 1 56 08 37 70
[email protected]
8
International Council of Museums
22 rue de Palestro - 75002 Paris
ICOM visual identity
International Council of Museums
Concept book
May 2016
9
The body, the serif and the vertical line
A typographic monument
Just like pillars which support buildings, the serif gives a strong
base to the letter. There are many serif fonts. The reale
serif has a straight body and offers a progressive transition.
The contrast between downstrokes and upstrokes shows elegance
and modernity. The reale style was created at the same time
as the Louvre colonnade, in the 17th century.
Papyriform
Ionic
Greek Doric
Roman Doric
Serif humane
Serif réale
Serif didone
Sans-serif
c-album
Graphic design studio
50, rue du Faubourg du Temple
75011 Paris France
Tel +33 1 56 08 37 70
[email protected]
10
International Council of Museums
22 rue de Palestro - 75002 Paris
ICOM visual identity
International Council of Museums
Concept book
May 2016
11
The calligraphic gesture
A human link
The gesture of the painter, the calligrapher or the engraver
is a voluntary action. No matter the intention – a quest for
spontaneity or a total control of the pencil – the artist makes
a mark. In that way, the manuscript gesture embodies culture,
humanity and civilisation.
It is also a smooth drawing, a pleasant lightness. The loop
strengthens the links between people. It expresses a weave,
a network.
Wang Xizhi, Preface to the Poems Collected
from the Orchid Pavilion. 2nd century.
Verses 85-88, 3rd chapter of the Quran,
in Tawqi and Nask, 14th century
Pablo Picasso, Arlequin
Jan Van den Velde, Vive la plume
16th-17th century
cspmu
&ß@æo
fiflf26
Mrs Eaves serif
c-album
Graphic design studio
Tito Honegger, Du Potentiel
50, rue du Faubourg du Temple
75011 Paris France
Jean Cocteau
Alexander Calder, Trapeze Artists
Tel +33 1 56 08 37 70
[email protected]
12
International Council of Museums
22 rue de Palestro - 75002 Paris
ICOM visual identity
International Council of Museums
Concept book
May 2016
13
The typography
A multi-cultural system
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvw
xyzabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxy
zÂÃÄÅÆÇÈÉÊËÌÍÎÏÐÑÒÓÔÕÖ×Ø
ÙÚÛÜÝÞßàáâãäåæçèéêëìííîïðñòó
ôõö÷øùúûüýþÿĀĂĄĆĈĊČĎĐĒĔĖĘ
ĚĜĞĠĢĤĦĨĪĬĮİIJĴĶĹĻĽ ĿŁŃŅŇŊ
ŋŌōŎŏŐőŒœŔŕŖŗŘřŚśŜŝŞşŠšŢţŤ
ťŦŧŨũŪūŬŭŮůŰűŲųŴŵŶŷŹ źŻżŽ
žΑΒΓΔΕΖΗΘΙΚΛΜΝΞΟΠΡΣΤΥΦΧ
ΨΩαβγδεζηθικλνξοπρςστυφχψω
The chosen font is available on most computers currently used :
Georgia for the logotype and Arial for common compositions.
aлε
aжβ
‫ښא‬ŋ
Latin Georgia
Cyrillic Georgia
Latin Arial
Cyrillic Arial
Hebrew Arial
Arabic Arial
c-album
Graphic design studio
50, rue du Faubourg du Temple
75011 Paris France
Greek Georgia
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvw
xyzabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxy
zÂÃÄÅÆÇÈÉÊËÌÍÎÏÐÑÒÓÔÕÖ×Ø
ÙÚÛÜÝÞßàáâãäåæçèéêëìííîïðñò
óôõö÷øùúûüýþÿĀĂĄĆĈĊČĎĐĒĔĖ
ĘĚĜĞĠĢĤĦĨĪĬĮİIJĴĶĹĻĽ ĿŁŃŅŇŊ
ŋŌōŎŏŐőŒœŔŕŖŗŘřŚśŜŝŞşŠšŢ
ţŤťŦŧŨũŪūŬŭŮůŰűŲųŴŵŶŷŹ źŻż
ŽžΑΒΓΔΕΖΗΘΙΚΛΜΝΞΟΠΡΣΤΥΦΧ
ΨΩαβγδεζηθικλνξοπρςστυφχψω
Greek Arial
Phonetic Arial
Tel +33 1 56 08 37 70
[email protected]
‫ٱبتثجحخدذرزسشصضطظعغفقکلي‬
14
International Council of Museums
22 rue de Palestro - 75002 Paris
ICOM visual identity
International Council of Museums
Concept book
May 2016
15
The blue
A common and universal color
Nowadays, the blue color has become the international color.
International organisations use the blue, and even the main
global companies. The blue symbolizes peace, serenity, continuity.
Of course, it is also the color of our planet.
c-album
Graphic design studio
50, rue du Faubourg du Temple
75011 Paris France
Tel +33 1 56 08 37 70
[email protected]
16
II. The logotype
c-album
Graphic design studio
50, rue du Faubourg du Temple
75011 Paris France
Tel +33 1 56 08 37 70
[email protected]
18
International Council of Museums
22 rue de Palestro - 75002 Paris
ICOM visual identity
International Council of Museums
Concept book
May 2016
19
Studies for the monogram
c-album
Graphic design studio
50, rue du Faubourg du Temple
75011 Paris France
Tel +33 1 56 08 37 70
[email protected]
20
International Council of Museums
22 rue de Palestro - 75002 Paris
ICOM visual identity
International Council of Museums
Concept book
May 2016
21
The monogram’s design
Shape and bold try outs
c-album
Graphic design studio
50, rue du Faubourg du Temple
75011 Paris France
Tel +33 1 56 08 37 70
[email protected]
22
International Council of Museums
22 rue de Palestro - 75002 Paris
ICOM visual identity
International Council of Museums
Concept book
May 2016
23
The M monogram
The logotype is structured around the letter M
combined with a calligraphic loop.
c-album
Graphic design studio
50, rue du Faubourg du Temple
75011 Paris France
Tel +33 1 56 08 37 70
[email protected]
24
International Council of Museums
22 rue de Palestro - 75002 Paris
ICOM visual identity
International Council of Museums
Concept book
May 2016
25
The logotype
The monogram standing alone
c-album
Graphic design studio
50, rue du Faubourg du Temple
75011 Paris France
Tel +33 1 56 08 37 70
[email protected]
26
International Council of Museums
22 rue de Palestro - 75002 Paris
ICOM visual identity
International Council of Museums
Concept book
May 2016
27
The logotype
The acronym + the monogram
c-album
Graphic design studio
50, rue du Faubourg du Temple
75011 Paris France
Tel +33 1 56 08 37 70
[email protected]
28
International Council of Museums
22 rue de Palestro - 75002 Paris
ICOM visual identity
International Council of Museums
Concept book
May 2016
29
Le logotype
The logotype extended
c-album
Graphic design studio
50, rue du Faubourg du Temple
75011 Paris France
Tel +33 1 56 08 37 70
[email protected]
30
International Council of Museums
22 rue de Palestro - 75002 Paris
ICOM visual identity
International Council of Museums
Concept book
May 2016
31