DESIGN EFFECTIVENESS   |   POSTED ON 24.05.2013

Established in 1887, The Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki is the leading public gallery in Auckland with the most expansive collection of national and international art in New Zealand. The gallery underwent a three year redevelopment for a new building along with a new identity that told the story of art and represented both Maori and Pakeha cultures of New Zealand.

In order for the gallery to compete with other leisure destinations in New Zealand, they built an identity to communicate in a different ways to their diverse audiences. This meant reaching out to their market in a fun, exciting and friendly way, enticing families with young children and a broader generation and cultural mix, that they are fun, exciting and friendly.

Based on the idea of demystifying art through language and cultures, they developed a text algorithm as a design device, incorporating the words “Art” and “Toi” (Maori translation of art). Using the consistent theme of “ART” they were able to create strong communications with clean typography and unlimited variations. The new identity was applied across the entire organisation from print to digital, on environmental communications, uniforms, products for the gallery’s shop and the launch campaign.

Auckland Art Gallery’s new brand identity along side the new building development was launched in September 2011, and the exhibition space was increased by 50%. The rebrand was a huge success with an increase of 595,008 visitors over the 10 month period after reopening, nearly 300,000 more than they anticipated, a remarkable result in a city with a population of 1.5 million people. The gallery’s shop sales increased, with their branded products amongst the top sellers. Feed back from customers have been overwhelmingly positive.