Simplicity wins in museum logo contest
Local artist's design unveiled at art museum reception Friday

By Susan E. Lindt, Staff
Intelligencer Journal

Published: Apr 21, 2007 1:54 AM EST

LANCASTER, Pa. - If thinking of Lancaster Museum of Art brings to your mind the long-held logo of an iconic column, it might be time to take a new look.

The museum Friday adopted a new logo to go with its new location and style.

The museum's new logo is the result of a competition in which a dozen artists entered their visions of the museum's future image. It was freelance artist Donna Lindsey who took the prize.

"I just went on my own mind," said Lindsey, whose submission was chosen by a jury of four to represent the museum's new location at 215 N. Queen St.

Lindsey's winning entry is a simple block phrase, "Lancaster Museum of Art," in Sans Serif.

"She gave us a more contemporary feel to it, and 'art' is the largest part of the logo," said museum director and juror Cindi Morrison. "This logo will serve us well."

What made Lancaster resident Lindsey's submission a winner was its flexibility and emphasis on art over the museum, Morrison said.

"Her logo minimizes 'Lancaster' and 'museum,'" Morrison said. "The 'art' is bigger and bolder - and that's what it's all about."

The logo was unveiled Friday at an afternoon reception at the museum's current location on North Lime Street. But the logo anticipates the museum's move to its new home at the former Empire TV & Appliance building.

Lindsey said she resisted the temptation to identify the museum in her mind with more elaborate themes and went with a simple logo that could be adapted to take on the feel of each exhibit the museum will sponsor in the future.

"It's the only idea I executed, but there was a lot of thinking about the vision of the art museum," Lindsey said. "I thought about using a red rose, and I thought about something bucolic, like the Amish, or something artsy, but I thought about what complements their brand."

The lettering of the word "art" in Lindsey's design will allow the style of a current artist to show through.

"It's not much to look at at first, but I didn't want to overpower what it might be used for in an exhibit," Lindsey said. "I wanted something complementary."

Lancaster's White Good & Co. Advertising, which oversees the museum's capital campaign, suggested the museum run a contest for a new logo to replace the iconic column that had symbolized the museum for more than a dozen years.

"The pillar is associated with this building," said Shawn Barron, account manager at White Good & Co. "We thought they should disassociate from this physical space and get a whole new logo for their new space."

During the presentation of the new logo Friday, capital campaign co-chair Brad Clark said $800,000 has already been raised to move the museum into the new space.

"Soon, instead of people walking by and wondering when the heck the museum is going to do something with the space, they will look at it and say, 'Wow, now I know why they waited,' " Clark said.

The capital campaign is now entering the "large giving" phase, but any donations are gladly accepted. For more information, visit lmapa.org.

E-mail: slindt@lnpnews.com