Kunsthalle Praha visual identity and signs

Published May 22, 2023

Logo

Studio Najbrt designed the visual identity of Kunsthalle Praha, a contemporary art museum that opened its doors in February 2022.

The logo was created already five years earlier. Its design is based on an alphabet suggested by Jan Tschichold for “easy and quick to construct lettering” in 1930, the same time when the building of the Zenger Transformer Substation was built – which now houses the museum. Marek Pistora designed a custom typeface family named Kunst. It also comprises the all-caps Kunst Grid and a set of pictograms, Kunst Picto. This constructivist typeface became “the basis and an integral part of the future visual style of the orientation system and exhibitions.” Most prominently, its caps adorn the façade of the building. From Studio Najbrt:

The idea for the typographic designation on the corner of the Kunsthalle Praha building arose during the development of the logotype and visual style. This unusual solution is not only well visible from different angles, but has become a natural part of the specific morphology of the building. The application on the facade required a lot of modifications and testing, paper models, visualizations, including the necessary stress of the Kunst font central strokes. The resulting metal inscription is definitely our biggest realization of typography in public space!

The custom typeface is complemented by Suisse Int’l. See also the contribution by Swiss Typefaces about Kunsthalle Praha’s exhibition design including posters and catalogs. For more images, see the case study by Studio Najbrt.

The inspiration for the custom typeface: Jan Tschichold’s Leicht und schnell konstruierbare Schrift (“easy and quick to construct lettering”) from 1930