Ivan Chermayeff's MoMA Logo Endures After Six Decades

Ivan Chermayeff's MoMA logotype, first introduced in 1964, remains the foundation of the museum's visual identity over sixty years later. The design uses Franklin Gothic No. 2 for a stark typographic approach. Chermayeff, son of modernist architect Serge Chermayeff, also created logos for Barneys New York, Chase Bank, and New York University. In 2004, a custom typeface called MoMA Gothic was introduced by Matthew Carter. Five years later, Pentagram was appointed to create guidelines for using MoMA Gothic across all museum output, from signage to publications. Pentagram worked with Julia Hoffmann, MoMA's Creative Director for Graphics and Advertising, to develop cropping, coloring, and pairing methods, reducing the logo to abstracted letters. The logo is used on the 53rd Street façade, MoMA's website, and merchandise.