Contemporary Art is often misunderstood and underappreciated, commonly thought of as rather niche, intellectually intimidating and something for only the exclusive art community to enjoy.

Previously a small, overlooked, and undifferentiated gallery, in 2018, Toronto’s Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) was relaunching. The museum was moving from a small, nondescript space into an iconic 100-year-old factory. This big new space presented a big opportunity to relaunch the brand, from the ground up, and build a world-class MOCA.

The objectives for the re-launch were twofold:

1) Create a unique but simple brand identity that would differentiate MOCA from other art institutes; and,

2) Appeal to the art community and beyond; making Contemporary Art accessible and appreciated by all.

Our task was to rebrand MOCA across all touchpoints, from design system to gift-shop merchandise, and even a city-wide outdoor campaign.

To appeal to Canadians who didn’t understand or appreciate the value of contemporary art, or what it adds to their lives, we a created unique design idea for MOCA that would be the basis for all touchpoints for the brand.

The idea: From the Ground Up.

Our design idea was inspired by the building’s most dominant feature – columns that narrow as they climb through all floors. This treatment of thick to thin is a simple, yet a unique system which was born directly out of the building columns. This treatment became the brand pattern and was represented across all materials – even the chocolate bars sold in the gift shop.

To bring the design system to life and reinforce the accessibility of Contemporary Art for Canadians, we partnered with a renowned Canadian chocolate artist to create a range of contemporary chocolate art for sale at the MOCA gift shop.

The “Dark to light” series was born– a selection of chocolate flavours that reflected MOCA’s new brand identity. Leveraging the design system created for the overall identity and the thick to thin treatment born out of the building's columns, the intensity of the chocolate was organized and classified in the same way; dark to light.

The bars were literally art: no two alike, all individually made. Clear packaging was created so the art of each unique chocolate bar could be displayed and appreciated. The simple MOCA identity was applied overtop, creating the Chocolate of Contemporary Art.

The chocolates completely sold out in the first 3 months of the museum’s relaunch. What’s even more impressive is that this was the case despite their premium price tag – nearly $20 each, or about 2x that of the entry cost to the museum itself.

Not only did sales of the chocolates benefit further funding for the museum, but it also allowed community members to take home a piece of contemporary art of their own – contributing to the MOCA’s overall goal of making contemporary art more accessible for all.