PROJECT DESCRIPTION
NIMA is a museum and cultural platform devoted to popularizing the art of peoples and countries across disciplines and time. To highlight NIMA and the important work they do as an emerging cultural institution, we created a striking identity that evokes diversity and multiculturalism.
For NIMA's identity, we designed a custom typeface of the same name. NIMA’s projects focus on non-Eurocentric art, so we decided to base the characters on the world's writing systems, merging the west's Latin script, the north's runic alphabet, the east's hieroglyphs, and the south's Oceanic glyphs.
By closely examining these scripts and fusing their unique visual traits, we aimed to produce a system that functions as a whole. Because of this complexity, the font appears ornate, eclectic, and almost pictographic.
NIMA, which means "sun" in Tibetan, represents the institution's mission to shed light on long-hidden and marginalized cultural phenomena. To emphasize this idea, we used solar symbols from various cultures in the identity. We adapted these graphic elements to match the font.
The NIMA font is so expressive it becomes the primary graphic language for the museum. So rather than creating a new logo, we chose to type it out using the NIMA font.
PROJECT INFORMATION
Entry Type: Single Entry
Channel: Cross-Media
Primary Role of the Designer: Designer as author
Client Relationship: Unknown (NA) / Other (if other, please explain) A Brand Identity Commission
Intention of the Project: Introduction of a new product, service, or program
Development Budget: $5,001 – $10,000
Production/Execution Budget: Confidential / Not Available
Source of Funding: Client
Typefaces: NIMA custom typeface by Ekaterina Daugel-Dauge
Paper:
Materials:
CREDIT INFORMATION
Creative Director:
Art Director: Phillip Tretyakov
Designers: Anastasia Lipyagovskaya
Researchers:
Developers:
Copywriter:
Illustrator:
Photographer:
Printer:
Producer:
Other Credits: Typeface: Favorit Pro by Dinamo
NIMA Museum and cultural platform
Category
Brand and Identity Systems
Description
Winner - 365: AIGA Year in Design (2022)
Title: NIMA Museum and cultural platform
Design Firm/Agency: ESH gruppa
Client Industry:
Client Location: Moscow, Russia
Juror Comments
“Reinventing language may seem nearly impossible, but this project manages to achieve just that. By skillfully combining a thoughtfully curated collection of letters, a typeface emerges that flawlessly enhances the visual identity.”
Self-Identified Distinctions: Design for Good - Social Releavance, Design for Good - Cultural Awareness
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