Tate Logo Design

I actually planned to go to Tate Modern again today to continue my brand experience journey. However, the weather was just too beautiful and I kind of did not like the idea to get on the tube and spend the whole afternoon in central London. Therefore, I chose a topic which is not necessarily related to an actual visit, but can be explored online or from my memory: The logo design of Tate Modern.

The Tate Modern logo is the first logo I've ever seen, which is kind of a "living" logo. It changes its shape and appearance continuously and also according to the medium it is used. The basis is "TATE" written in capital letters and in a font, which comes close Arial, just a bit more round and modern (I'm not a typographer, so please don't judge...). However, the logo may change every time you'll see it. The letters become bold, sometimes the first too letters almost vanish, sometimes it's the second two letters. It looks like the letters start to disappear and appear again and the spaces within the letters become bigger or smaller. Go, have a look yourself on www.tate.org.uk and click on the different tabs and titles. Every time the page re-loads, the logo changes. They also play a lot with different colors. The colour, which seems to be predominant for Tate Modern is pink. However, it does not have to be pink, it works on several backgrounds depending on the content of the medium where the logo is used.

Is the Tate Modern logo a logo in transformation?

Didn't we learn that one of the most important rules in branding is consistency? It seems that we are sometimes allowed to break the rules and it also seems that it can be very successful. However, although the logo changes its appearance, there is indeed very much consistency. Many of you might not have even noticed that the logo changes, because you always see only one version at the time. And the design is always very clear and strong. Most importantly the style does not change, but stays within clear borders. The logo design has very distinct characteristics.

Tate Modern is kind of a sub-brand within the Tate family brand structure or also called brand architecture. Tate Modern's siblings are Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. All the sub-brands have their own colour and the supplement is written on top of the right corner of the "TATE" logo. Tate Modern is the most well-known of these four sub-brands and the others definitely profit from Tate Modern's popularity. Many people also visit Tate Britain on their trip to London and not just because they want to see the exhibitions with as high quality as Tate Modern, but also because they make the link between the two brands and get the attention of Tate Britain through their experience with Tate Modern.