The Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (Dutch pronunciation: [ˌsteːdələk myˌzeːjʏm ˌɑmstərˈdɑm]; Municipal Museum Amsterdam), colloquially known as the Stedelijk, is a museum for modern art, contemporary art, and design located in Amsterdam, Netherlands.[8][9]
The 19th century building was designed by Adriaan Willem Weissman and the 21st century wing with the current entrance was designed by Benthem Crouwel Architects. It is located at the Museum Square in the borough Amsterdam South,[2] where it is close to the Van Gogh Museum, the Rijksmuseum, and the Concertgebouw.[10]
The collection comprises modern and contemporary art and design from the early 20th century up to the 21st century. It features artists such as Vincent van Gogh, Wassily Kandinsky, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Marc Chagall, Henri Matisse, Jackson Pollock, Karel Appel, Andy Warhol, Willem de Kooning, Marlene Dumas, Lucio Fontana, and Gilbert & George.[9]
In 1963, Wim Crouwel and his design company, Total Design, began working for the Stedelijk Museum under the new director Eduard de Wilde. Crouwel designed catalogues, invitations, posters, and brochures using a consistent grid. He wanted to standardize the typography using the Univers typeface since it has the same x height on every weight.[34] This grid-like layout became known as the SM-design style.[37]
Armand Mevis and Linda van Deursen redesigned the logo and visual identity of the museum in 2012, which was gradually unveiled with its re-opening on 23 September 2012. Mevis and van Deursen had previously designed the graphic identity of the temporary Stedelijk program from 2010 to 2012. The main aspect of the new logo is a large sans-serif S that is composed of the letters of the museum's name in capital letters. The typeface used is Union, a hybrid of Helvetica and Arial, created by Czech typographer Radim Peško in 2009. Union is used for all of the museum's interior and exterior signage and additional materials and resources. The new logo visual identity was controversial at first, especially since Wim Crouwel's original logo was extremely admired and influential.[38]