This is my final project at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, For the project, I chose to rebrand the Bible Lands Museum
The Bible Lands Museum is an archaeological museum in Jerusalem, Israel, that explores the culture of the peoples mentioned in the Bible, among them the ancient Egyptians, Canaanites, Philistines, Arameans, Hittites, Elamites, Phoenicians, and Persians.
When I started thinking about the project I knew I wanted to brand a cultural institute, this museum immediately crossed my mind. When I went to see it I also realized that the current situation of the museum needed it, there was no uniform visual language and the general atmosphere was in my opinion outdated (and I'm not talking about archaeological finds themselves). The only consistent graphic element they had was their logo. I kept the original logo as it was except for a few small changes, I took out the two frames enclosing the original logo and changed the font.
Like any kid who grew up in Jerusalem, I visited the museum as part of the educational curriculum doing elementary and high school. The “Bible Museum” was etched in my mind completely ignoring the word "Lands", it became clear that this is a general impression that is received and I’m not the only one. Ignoring the word “lands” is incorrect, because the museum does not display artifacts from the Bible at all but shows findings from the cultures who have lived during those time. The connection the museum has to the Bible is a nostalgic connection that is meant to allow the visitor to place himself in the history which he is looking at.
My design goal is to offer the visitor three different ways in which he can experience the museum; present, absence, and myth. Each of the themes has its own visual representation. Present; Represents the science, history, and facts; Represented by the images themselves of the findings. Absence; Representing the mystery, unknown, academic divisions and pieces that are not found; Represented by the missing shapes. Myth; Represents the legend, the epics and the heroic stories of the Bible, and are represented by illustrations. While the myth is what distinguishes this museum from other archeology museums.
