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Musseoma

Branding & Editorial Design

2018

"Musseoma" is a project created in collaboration with illustrator Jessica Luviano, which began in 2017 as an illustration project but quickly evolved into an editorial focus.

The main idea behind this project is to spread awareness about cultural spaces by creating printed and digital materials that blend illustration with useful information. These materials are designed in a format that invites people to explore the cultural offerings of their cities, including museums, theaters, parks, fairs, and more.

Naming

The chosen name for the brand, was crafted to convey the essence of the project in a single word. Musseoma embodies the experience of visiting artistic spaces, whether they are museums, concert halls, theaters, or other places dedicated to one of the nine muses of art: Clio, the muse of history; Euterpe, of music; Thalia, of comedy; Melpomene, of tragedy; Terpsichore, of dance; Erato, of elegy; Polyhymnia, of lyric poetry; Urania, of astronomy; and Calliope, of rhetoric and poetry.

Logo

The Musseoma logo is composed of geometric shapes that repeat throughout the visual identity. The rectangular shapes present in the logo not only provide the structure for the remaining letters but also subtly reference each of the nine muses, represented by nine rectangles.

Tipografía

The typography chosen for Musseoma needed to be versatile and adaptable for various editorial and digital materials.

Franklin Gothic was selected due to its modern character, enabling the brand to have a wide range of options to suit different sizes and publishing platforms.

Franklin Gothic, created by Morris Fuller Benton (1872-1948) in 1902, is named in honor of Benjamin Franklin, the influential American politician, inventor, and printer. This sans-serif typeface was used in advertisements and newspaper headlines in the early 20th century.

Despite a period of disuse in the 1930s and the introduction of European typefaces like Kabel and Futura, Franklin Gothic was rediscovered by American designers in the 1940s and has maintained its popularity ever since.

Color

Since Musseoma focuses on creating editorial materials, its color palette varies based on the specific publication or theme. For the first issue of Musseoma, two colors were selected to stand out among the array of books, guides, and products in stores and bookshops where the brand would be found.

Illustrated Museum Guide Vol. 1

With a total of 170 museums, Mexico City ranks second globally in terms of the number of museums, trailing only behind London. For this reason, it was fitting that Musseoma's first project was to create a guide focused on the city's historic area, known as the Centro Histórico.

This first edition consists of 46 postcard-sized cards, each illustrating a museum and providing information on connections to the city's major transportation systems, such as the STC Metro, Metrobús, and ECOBICI.

Colaterales

In addition to the Guide, printed materials were created to enhance the overall experience.

The notebook serves as a platform for writing notes, thoughts, or references.

And a tri-fold map was designed to make it easier to locate each museum. Similar to the guide, these prints had to adhere to the philosophy of simplicity and clarity while keeping production costs reasonable, ensuring that end users could access them without any issues.

Musseoma is an independent project constantly striving to playfully bring the city's cultural offerings closer to people.

Design Credits:

Creative Direction
Jessica Luviano + Eric León Hdez.

Editorial Design:
Eric León Hdez.

Illustrations:
Jessica Luviano

Photography Art Direction for case study:
Eric León Hdez. + Victor Medina Fuentes

Photographs of case study:
Innrt Studio – Victor Medina Fuentes

Impresos por Innova & Kon. Ciudad de México