MUNICH.- Haus der Kunst announces the selection of BASE DESIGN to develop a new Visual Identity for the museum. The comprehensive proposal for a completely redesigned visual identity system presented by BASE DESIGN, which has offices in Brussels, Barcelona, Madrid, New York, and Santiago de Chile, was selected after an international search in which six design agencies from five different countries participated. The jury comprised of members of the Haus der Kunst staff, and the board of the museum.

Based on the idea of elasticity, the agency's proposal for Haus der Kunst elaborates a concept based on the qualities of flexibility, resilience, and adaptability. The visual system is initially founded on a morphing wordmark with irregular spacing inside the letters, which in turn seeks to address the strong neo-classical features of the architecture through the malleability of the identity system. As BASE DESIGN says, while "the building's facade is not elastic at all, reflected by the (deceptively) fixed start position of the living logo, this rigidity evaporates as soon as the logo starts moving, symbolizing Haus der Kunst's flexible and adventurous programming." The design therefore offers a contrast to the dynamic programming of contemporary art presented in all its different formats. The new visual system developed for Haus der Kunst is thus like an elastic band.

According to Haus der Kunst director Okwui Enwezor: "The relationship between form and content, between a solid, unyielding shell outside and the greatest elasticity inside, is what should characterize the work of Haus der Kunst."

The agency's proposal for Haus der Kunst includes three key ideas: - It portrays Haus der Kunst as a "Curiosity Sherpa" that will guide an eclectic audience through a whole variety of cultural fields.

- A tagline, "Stretch your view", will serve as an invitation to discover, as well as an expression of the philosophy and curatorial process championed by Haus der Kunst.

- The concept of a 'container' that aims at grouping all sorts of artefacts and cultural manifestations together and trigger interactions.

Thus, the new visual system, which includes a completely redesigned website, and way finding system aims to bring both the container on the one hand, and elasticity on the other into a constructive tension. The concept of the container will be directly applied to the structure of the website which will be a cornerstone of Haus der Kunst's new design. The website is supposed to condense all of Haus der Kunst's activities, to strenghten its visibility on a global scale, and to address its committed, passionate and participating audience.

The operational headquarter for the development of the Visual Idenitity for Haus der Kunst is BASE DESIGN's Brussels studio. In the last couple of years BASE DESIGN has acquired an impressive international track record featuring a multitude of clients such as Kayne West, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, Bozar/The Palais de Beaux Arts Brussels, Pantone, Puma, The Children's Museum of the Arts in New York City, Barnard College, San Francisco Art Institute, Wellesley College, Hotel Missoni, De Singel and others.