Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam's brand identity for Foam sets the museum into motion for the first time

"Seeking a new brand system that would reposition Foam and stretch across all of the museum's platforms and initiatives, the team reached out to Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam to develop a cohesive new visual identity that channels the pioneering space Foam has carved out. The main challenge of the brief, according to Alex, design director at W+K Amsterdam, "was to join the dots between all platforms (museum, magazine and digital) so Foam could be more visible without detracting from the photography"."

"Foam had had a static brand system to date and W+K were keen to make motion a key element of the brand's repositioning, but only in a way that felt like the right fit for the platform. Whilst the world of branded motion design can often be slick and seamless, lead motion designer and director at W+K, Sohyeon Nam, established very early on in the project that motion for Foam would not be just any kind of "decoration"."

"Instead, it would be about "creating a digital voice to pause and truly see," he says. If Foam is a photography platform that's all about getting people to slow down be challenged by what they are looking at, the strategy for the agencies approach to this new design dimension would be guided by "the weight of stillness", the designer continues, converging a motion language that that carries "resistance, friction, tension, angular shifts, and pause"."

Foam opened in Amsterdam in 2001 and has grown into an international museum, printed magazine, and online platform. Foam's original identity by Vandejong has remained strong while positioning evolved with social change and the shifting photography landscape. Foam engaged Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam to create a cohesive visual identity spanning museum, magazine, and digital platforms. The primary brief was to increase visibility across platforms without detracting from photography. W+K focused on motion as a key brand element, designing deliberate motion behaviors that emphasize pause and stillness rather than slick decoration, aiming to slow viewers and introduce resistance, friction, and tension.

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