SFMOMA, More Open than Ever

In late 2022, SFMOMA launched a coordinated push to enhance what director Christopher Bedford described as “the sense of welcome and hospitality at the museum” — part of a broader, museum-wide initiative to rebuild audiences and support downtown San Francisco’s recovery.

My focus was the visual identity for one piece of that initiative: activating the museum's entrances and signaling a new, temporary policy of free admission to the first two gallery floors, including the permanent collection.

With its stark modernist architecture, the building can be intimidating for first-time visitors. Working with the artist Jocelyn Tsaih, known for dynamic figures and abstract forms, I art directed a series of illustrations built around her concept of portals into an inviting world of art, turning the entrances into beacons for passersby rather than a forbidding facade.

To raise awareness of the free-admission policy, the brand activation extended into the building's interior, guiding visitors toward the newly free spaces.

Viewed alongside Jocelyn's vibrant illustration, the museum's existing typeface didn't carry enough warmth to match the program's exuberance. After some experimentation, we hand-lettered directly onto the walls — a literal human touch on a message of welcome.

This project took an abstract institutional mission statement — "radical hospitality" — and translated it into a physical, felt experience across real space, on a fast timeline, while directing an outside illustrator.