• The Philadelphia Museum of Art was renamed the Philadelphia Art Museum about four months ago as part of a new identity created by design firm Gretel. The name change proved to be incredibly unpopular, and now the original name is back. The remainder of the griffin-based identity will be retained.
The current director and CEO of the museum, Daniel Weiss, told the Philadelphia Inquirer, “I think what we learned is that people who have any knowledge of the institution—donors, staff, trustees, members—they know the name and it resonates with them… And changing the name for no obvious reason created a sense of alienation and didn’t make sense to a lot of people.”
• Saint Meinrad, an unusually identity-savvy Benedictine monastery in St. Meinrad, Indiana, has an updated identity, its first in 30 years.
From the monastery’s website:
• The church towers are the location’s most recognizable landmark;
• The ravens, said to be the companions of St. Benedict and St. Meinrad, represent obedience and the Benedictine way of life; and
• The boat honors the monks’ journey from Switzerland to Indiana and symbolizes the Church on its mission.
