The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) has unveiled SFMOMA Sans, a dedicated typeface designed to enhance readability and accessibility for visitors. Designed by type designer Liv King, the typeface was developed with the goal of integrating the entire exhibition viewing experience into a single typographic system, going beyond a simple brand renewal.
Previously, SFMOMA used two different typefaces for print, environmental graphics, and digital platforms. This resulted in inconsistencies in readability and visual consistency across different media, and the new typeface was created to resolve this issue. The design is inspired by the geometric sans-serif typeface that SFMOMA has long used, particularly Futura. It is characterized by the addition of soft curves and details to capture the expressiveness unique to contemporary art, possessing both functionality and individuality.
SFMOMA Sans offers 9 weights ranging from Thin to Black and a total of 18 styles, supporting over 500 languages and more than 650 glyphs. This enables a consistent experience across various touchpoints, including exhibition signage, wayfinding systems, publications, and websites. Specifically, the thin weights feature wider letter spacing and clearer character distinctions to make small text and long sentences easier to read, while the design emphasizes the brand's unique identity by transitioning the 'a' and 'g' from a double-story to a single-story form as the weight increases.
This project is an example of viewing typeface not merely as a brand element, but as an interface that supports visitor movement, information comprehension, and accessibility. By connecting the entire exhibition experience through a single type system and designing it to be easier for anyone to read and navigate, it demonstrates the future direction of typography in museums and cultural spaces.
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