Our Charlotte ad agency is very excited that after three years of being closed, the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum will reopen its doors December 12th as a completely renovated museum with 60 percent more gallery space and a new identity designed by Pentagram partner Eddie Opara and team. From a typographical perspective, the sturdy, utilitarian wordmark (based on a customized version of Galaxie Polaris Condensed) has even been turned into a custom typeface, appropriately named … wait for it … Cooper Hewitt.

The Museum is even encouraging the public to use the new typeface (developed by Chester Jenkins of Village) in their own designs, making it available as a free download on cooperhewitt.org.

The renovation and rebrand consisting of a new name, graphic identity, typeface and website serve as an effort to draw more visitors to the museum. Cooper Hewitt, housed in the Andrew Carnegie Mansion in New York City, is a historic landmark but but seems like an awkward place to go view contemporary design. The Museum’s director, Caroline Baumann is hoping to change that. She says, “We’re really taking the dust off the place and making it an exciting destination for people.”

So next time you’re in NYC, make sure you check it out.