New visual identity for the Slovak Mining Museum
The Slovak Mining Museum, located in Banská Štiavnica, has launched a new visual identity created by Daniela Matúšková, a student of the AFAD. In the winter semester of the last academic year, a student competition was held in the Studio Identity at the Department of Visual Communication under the supervision of teachers Stanislav Stankoci, Peter Nosáľ and Ondrej Gavalda.
Daniela Matúšková, author of the new visual identity of the Slovak Mining Museum:
"The story of the logo of the Slovak Mining Museum is embedded in an abstract structure that symbolizes the abbreviation SBM – Slovenské banské múzeum. The graphic form captures the whole process that the organization goes through on the way to self-definition.
The element in the logotype represents the entrance to the mine, tunnels and an inverted coat of arms. The meaning of this element elevates one of the most important branches of human activity - mining, which made Slovakia and especially Banská Štiavnica famous.
An unified visual style is a set of visually unified elements of communication and presentation in the online and offline space. The guiding line in visual communication is the semi-block element and lines, which give the visuals uniformity and at the same time uniqueness. The new visual identity highlights the history of the city and the institution as such. The minimalistic design reflects the technicality of related mining branches and gives room for creativity and uniqueness to individual, specifically focused exhibitions.
The goal of this change is to create a unified visual identity that not only reflects the history of mining, connects the exhibits with the main organization, but also raises them to a new level. Part of this corporate culture is the combination of historical contexts reflected in every part of visual communication."
On behalf of the Slovak Mining Museum, Mária Janušová commented on the new visual identity:
"The Slovak Mining Museum has a long, more than 120-year tradition. Such a long-term tradition probably creates certain ideas about the stability, immutability or classicity of the institution. At SBM, we are fully aware of this commitment to the public, but it is equally important for us to be an up-to-date museum institution that promptly responds to ongoing transformations or urgent challenges in society and culture. Despite our longevity, we want to be a relevant and sought-after museum of today, even for younger generations.
Contemporary society is characterized by a strong inclination towards visuality. We live in the age of images, as we are flooded with many image forms every day - either in ordinary reality or in virtual space. We are extremely visually perceptive, and therefore the external appearance - of people as well as things - plays an important role for us. Therefore, even for a memory institution such as a museum, not only the professional side, science and research, is important, but also how it acts externally towards society. The museum's communication tool with the public is primarily graphic design. The way the museum is visually presented greatly affects its perception in the eyes of the public and can cause an increase or decrease in attendance or a certain visibility of the institution.
For the above reasons, we have decided in our museum that it is time to change our usual visual identity. We are of the opinion that our current visuals are no longer sufficient for the requirements of contemporary visual culture. We at the Slovak Mining Museum want - despite the many problems we are forced to face, such as significant underfunding or understaffing - to respond to current trends, as well as look forward as part of the progression. That is why we are replacing our current visual identity with a new, contemporary, minimalistic, but bold, black and white design by Daniela Matúšková.
In the process of creating a new visual identity of SBM, we collaborated with the Department of Visual Communication of the AFAD in Bratislava, specifically with Studio Identity and with pedagogues prof. Stanislav Stankoci, Mgr. art. Ondrej Gavalda and Mgr. art. Peter Nosáľ. During the winter semester of the last academic year 2021/2022, a student competition for the design of the new visual identity of SBM and GaJK took place in the studio. The winner of this competition was Daniela Matúšková, a master's student of visual communication.
We will gradually implement the new visual identity in our online space, as well as in all exhibitions. You will first meet it in the Jozef Kollár Gallery, which will be a kind of "first swallow" of the visual identity change. We believe that you will like or be interested in our new graphic design and gradually we will all get used to it."
You can find more information at https://www.muzeumbs.sk/article/sk/slovenske-banske-muzeum-ma-novu-vizualnu-identitu.
Presentation video: https://fb.watch/e7MzRmcc24/