Koto revives 80-year-old wordmark for Norton Museum of Art rebrand

Design studio Koto has rebranded the Norton Museum of Art in Florida, reviving an 80-year-old wordmark and seal from the institution's archives. The new identity, built around the tagline 'Where art meets life,' captures the museum's dualities: old and new, institution and community. The wordmark, found on old documents, was reworked with a 40-degree diagonal angle to reflect the brand's 'against-the-grain' nature. The Diana Seal, based on Paul Manship's Diana statue commissioned by co-founder Ralph Norton in 1941, was redrawn for clarity and smaller applications. The color palette draws from Florida's landscape with yellows, sky blues, oranges, Klein blue, olive green, and warm black, while an extended palette allows colors from the Norton collection and temporary exhibitions. The typography uses Sharp Type's Centra No. 2, referencing the Foster + Partners 2019 expansion. Koto immersed itself in the museum, meeting staff and attending events, to create an identity that evokes the experience of being there, not just its characteristics. Strategy director Katie Hughes noted the brand had to hold both the institution and the life happening around it.