MFA Identity Research

Throughout the course of this week I conducted extensive research on my assigned client, The Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) in Boston. I am excited to be assigned an artistic entity because I hope it will allow me to think on a more abstract, artistic level and employ out-of-the-box design methodologies.

Research I conducted on this client included the history of the museum, the museum's mission and purpose, the audience it reaches, the current brand identity and what it stands for, and much more. Below are elaborations to most of the questions posed in this week's assignments, other visual elements will be seen on my visual audit of the brand.


history of the mfa
1800 –1909
The Museum was founded in 1870 and opened in 1876, with a large portion of its collection taken from the Boston Athenaeum Art Gallery. Francis Davis Millet was instrumental in starting the Art School attached to the Museum and getting Emil Otto Grundmann (1844 - 1890) appointed as its first director.

Originally located in a highly ornamented brick Gothic Revival building designed by John Hubbard Sturgis and Charles Brigham, located on Copley Square in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston. The Copley Square building was notable for its large-scale use of architectural terra cotta in the United States. The Museum moved to its current building on Huntington Avenue, Boston’s "Avenue of the Arts," in 1909.

1909 – 2000s
The museum’s present building was commenced in 1907, when museum trustees hired architect Guy Lowell to create a master plan for a museum that could be built in stages as funding was obtained for each phase. The first section of Lowell’s neoclassical design was completed in 1909, and featured a 500-foot (150 m) façade of cut granite along Huntington Avenue, the grand rotunda, and the associated exhibition galleries. Mrs. Robert Dawson Evans then funded the entire cost of building the next section of the museum’s master plan. This wing along the Back Bay Fens, opened in 1915 and houses painting galleries. From 1916 through 1925, John Singer Sargent created the art that lines the rotunda and the associated colonnade. Numerous additions enlarged the building throughout the years including the Decorative Arts Wing in 1968 and the Norman Jean Calderwood Garden Court and Terrace in 1997. This wing now houses the museum’s cafe, restaurant, and gift shop as well as exhibition space.

2000s expansion
In the mid-2000s, the museum embarked on a major renovation project. This includes the construction of a new wing for the arts of the Americas, redesigned and expanded education facilities, and extensive renovations of its European galleries, visitor services, and conservation facilities. This expansion will increase the size of the MFA by 28% with an additional 133,500 square feet (12,400 m2) of space.

The new wing was designed in a restrained, contemporary style by the London architectural firm of Foster and Partners, under the directorship of Lord (Norman) Foster. Groundbreaking for the addition took place in 2006. In the process, the present garden courtyard will be transformed into a climate-controlled year-round glass enclosure. Landscape architects Gustafson Guthrie Nichol have redesigned the Huntington Avenue and Fenway entrances, gardens, access roads, and interior courtyards. The opening of the new wing is scheduled for late 2010.



location
Located on Huntington Avenue in Boston, Massachusetts.


who runs the museum
Board of trustees, founders, benefactors, overseers.


who is the competition
Based on size and scope: Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY; Museum of Modern Art, NY;
Based on location: Boston University Art Gallery, Institute of Contemporary Art


any sub-brands?
Sister museum in Nagoya, Japan.



what they say they do (mission statement)
The Museum of Fine Arts houses and pr eserves preeminent collections and
aspires to serve a wide variety of people through direct encounters with works of art.
The Museum aims for the highest standards of quality in all its endeavors. It serves as a resource for both those who are already familiar with art and those for whom art is a new experience. Through exhibitions, programs, research and publications, the Museum documents and interprets its own collections. It provides information and perspective on art through time and throughout the world.

The Museum holds its collections in trust for future generations. It assumes conservation as a primary responsibility which requires constant attention to providing a proper environment for works of art and artifacts. Committed to its vast holdings, the Museum nonetheless recognizes the need to identify and explore new and neglected areas of art. It seeks to acquire art of the past and present which is visually significant and educationally meaningful.

The Museum has obligations to the people of Boston and New England, across the nation and abroad. It celebrates diverse cultures and welcomes new and broader constituencies. The Museum is a place in which to see and to learn. It stimulates in its visitors a sense of pleasure, pride and discovery which provides aesthetic challenge and leads to a greater cultural awareness and discernment.

The Museum creates educational opportunities for visitors and accommodates a wide range of experiences and learning styles. The Museum educates artists of the future through its School. The creative efforts of the students and faculty provide the Museum and its public with insights into emerging art and art forms.

The Museum’s ultimate aim is to encourage inquiry and to heighten public understanding and appreciation of the visual world.



audience
Students of all ages, teachers, faculty, parents and children, those seeking to learn about art, artists, art collectors, art enthusiasts, etc.


what does their website do?
The MFA website is both informative and interactive. It provides a history and understanding of the museum itself. It informs visitors of important dates of events and exhibits featured at the museum. It allows the reader to see which art pieces and exhibitions are featured at the museum and learn more about each piece. The website is easily navigated and segmented to each type of viewer whether it be a student, faculty, family, or community member.


does the building have a sign?
There is a sign present on the front of the museum... it is sculpted into the museum exterior itself above the main entrance. There are often banners hanging within the columns on the front of the museum that have the museum’s name on them. I believe there is a sign on the grounds of the museum, but cannot be certain until I visit again.


expressions of brand
The primary expression of the brand is the logo and the museum itself. Throughout my research I found surprisingly little marketing collateral and design representing the brand. The brand is represented by a logo and the feeling of the brand is evoked throughout the museum itself. Along with the logo and the museum itself, the brand also hosts a cleanly designed, easily navigable, informative website. The brand is also represented through the form of electronic newsletters which museum enthusiasts can sign up to receive using a form on the website.