MoMA: QNSDestination Queens

Moving MoMA to a temporary location and forward as a brand

In 2000, the Museum of Modern Art made the bold decision to tear down and rebuild its 53rd Street home. In the interim, a $35 million renovation of a Swingline Staples factory would act as the Museum’s temporary location. The impermanence of the move served to re-energize the MoMA brand, and the new venue acted as a lab for experimentation for its identity, campaigns, and graphic systems.

New York’s Museum of Modern Art temporarily moved across the East River to Long Island City years before the neighborhood was considered an arts destination, when Manhattanites rarely ventured to the outer boroughs. Working with the museum’s exciting programming, and the innovative architecture of Michael Maltzan, the challenge was to entice culture-seekers over to the renovated Swingline Staples factory during its three-year stay.

To convey that the museum had relocated to Queens, we built a visual world around the concept of movement. Notions of travel were prevalent in both the naming and art direction. Three-letter airport codes informed the QNS moniker, and all campaign imagery portrayed figures moving left to right – directionally the same on a map as the journey from Manhattan to Queens.

Simple gestures like arrows that signal direction and motion were used to orient visitors, while dotted lines separating information indicated temporality. A set of custom pictograms clearly explained the different options for transportation to the museum. All of these elements were designed to be a complement to the existing MoMA identity, which successfully guided visitors to the museum, and – thanks to a seamless integration with signage and architecture – then helped them to navigate it.

MoMA QNS opened June 2002 in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, when the world was still reeling, air travel was limited, and NYC was the last place that tourists wanted to visit. Attendance at all of the city’s cultural institutions plummeted, except for MoMA, which was the only one to exceed projected visitor numbers.

Our identity not only drew crowds to Queens, but brought a new energy to the institution, which might not have come to fruition without the move. What started as an overhaul of its building turned into a welcome refresh for the museum as a brand.

In 2000, the Museum of Modern Art made the bold decision to tear down and rebuild its 53rd Street home. In the interim, a $35 million renovation of a Swingline Staples factory would act as the Museum’s temporary location. The impermanence of the move served to re-energize the MoMA brand, and the new venue acted as a lab for experimentation for its identity, campaigns, and graphic systems.

New York’s Museum of Modern Art temporarily moved across the East River to Long Island City years before the neighborhood was considered an arts destination, when Manhattanites rarely ventured to the outer boroughs. Working with the museum’s exciting programming, and the innovative architecture of Michael Maltzan, the challenge was to entice culture-seekers over to the renovated Swingline Staples factory during its three-year stay.

To convey that the museum had relocated to Queens, we built a visual world around the concept of movement. Notions of travel were prevalent in both the naming and art direction. Three-letter airport codes informed the QNS moniker, and all campaign imagery portrayed figures moving left to right – directionally the same on a map as the journey from Manhattan to Queens.

Simple gestures like arrows that signal direction and motion were used to orient visitors, while dotted lines separating information indicated temporality. A set of custom pictograms clearly explained the different options for transportation to the museum. All of these elements were designed to be a complement to the existing MoMA identity, which successfully guided visitors to the museum, and – thanks to a seamless integration with signage and architecture – then helped them to navigate it.

MoMA QNS opened June 2002 in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, when the world was still reeling, air travel was limited, and NYC was the last place that tourists wanted to visit. Attendance at all of the city’s cultural institutions plummeted, except for MoMA, which was the only one to exceed projected visitor numbers.

Our identity not only drew crowds to Queens, but brought a new energy to the institution, which might not have come to fruition without the move. What started as an overhaul of its building turned into a welcome refresh for the museum as a brand.