The National Museum of Qatar is dedicated to bringing to life the unique story of Qatar and its people. It actively gives voice to the nation’s rich heritage and culture and perfectly curates the story of Qatar’s past, present and future.

The complex form of the desert rose, found in Qatar’s arid desert regions, inspired the striking design of the new museum building, conceived by French architect Jean Nouvel. The new building embraces Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim Al-Thani’s original palace.

Briefed to create a logo and brand that interprets not only Jean Nouvel’s architectural design, but also the historical original palace that it embraces.

Working closely with Qatar Museums Head of Design to create the brand, we focused our attention on the architecture of the 2 buildings. The ellipse is an element that captures the new architecture in one minimal form, and the archway used in the main entrance of the old palace gave the logo its historical component. The angle of the ellipse reflects the dynamic nature of the new building, combining it with three archways which depict open doorways to Qatar’s past, present and future.

The brand language is inspired by Jean Nouvel’s crystallisation pattern that is used throughout the exterior skin of the museum. Beautiful photography, simple typography and clear space completes the brand language.

We created a modern and elegant brand that resonates with generations of Qataris, along with international visitors.

Credits: Brand designed and created while Creative Director at The Creative Union. Partnered with Dana Alshebani, Head of Creative at Qatar Museums.