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September 2008 - Strategy Magazine
Special report

AGO: Art for everyone

by Carey Toane
page 38

Who: The Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto

What: A new brand identity to coincide with the physical expansion of the building by superstar architect (and former Toronto resident) Frank Gehry. The centrepiece of the identity, the logo, was designed by Toronto- and Chicago-based Bruce Mau Design and unveiled in May. The gallery is expected to open this November after three-plus years of renovations (see marketing story p. 18).

Revolutionary rationale: This AGO of the future is welcoming rather than intimidating, accessible rather than elitist. It is open to new audiences such as youth and reflects the diverse, changing face of Toronto, while maintaining positive attributes such as the permanent collection, blockbuster shows, outreach programs and the popular on-site restaurant.

Design insight: The marketing team's first step in spring 2005 was consulting stakeholders, from visitors to staff to members. "The research shows that the public has a positive, long-standing

relationship with the AGO," says designer Bruce Mau. "People are looking forward to the spectacular Frank Gehry-designed building, and are expecting innovative ideas. So we learned that the new brand position had to reinforce our established audience relationships while delivering something innovative and exciting."

The research identified three key brand attributes: excellence of collections, extraordinary visitor welcome (friendly greetings and orientation throughout the gallery, an emphasis on interactivity and the breakdown of barriers such as changing "docents" to "gallery guides") and leaders in interpretation (providing context for artworks, to not only explain art but also surprise visitors and help them relate to the work). "The purpose of all three is to connect people with art in ways people had never found before," says AGO director of marketing and visitor services Arlene Madell.

Anatomy of a brand identity

We asked Bruce Mau, whose agency has a 20-plus year relationship with the AGO, to dissect his latest graphic identity for the gallery.

Tension is good

We started the design process by mapping the critical tensions - serious vs. curious, intellectual vs. emotional, rigorous vs. inspirational, etc. We think tension is the engine that drives a brand forward. Exploiting critical tension strategically gives an organization unique definition, and a place to go.

From a brand design point of view, the challenge was to figure out how to model the critical tension into the communication system in ways that are legible and function constructively to build the brand impression.

Building public brands

Institutions like the AGO have the extraordinary responsibility to offer citizens, immigrants and visitors alike an experience of a truly Canadian cultural sensibility. It is vital for the AGO to have and to share a point of view. This was important 100 years ago, and it will still be important 100 years hence. This is what fundamentally underlies the AGO brand and how we've thought about how it should communicate over the years.

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