The undertone to so many of these negotiations seems to be that Republicans think city residents, like Philadelphians, are less deserving of a good life, and Democrat politicians think "You know what, maybe voters won't punish us for going along with that."

We deserve much stronger representation.

These sort of decisions are the kind that persuade voters that Republicans are evil and Democrats are ineffectual.

Republicans attained their goal of hurting Philly, and more. Democrats, led by Shapiro, seek pretty headlines but fail to deliver what their constituents need.

Shapiro likes his tagline "Get shit done".

He can fix a hole in a highway but for public transit riders across PA he's fine playing politics with their life and work.

Republicans want to 'punish' Philly? It seems PA Dems will happily accept that for the right price.

PennDOT is unwilling to make a neighborhood better 365 days a year if it imperils traffic on rare occasions a reroute of a highway is needed.

Even in new policy aiming to amend the harm of urban highways on nearby neighborhoods PennDOT insists on perpetuating the harm.

Images in this thread were taken from the design firm's website: gretelny.com/philadelphia...

And also the art museum's Instagram.

All of that said I love the return of the griffin, I think the name change will be net positive, and the merch is good and will sell well.

Rebrands are often received poorly at first, but I don't expect the rest of it to stand the test of time.

An accomplished Philadelphia design firm that's been killing it lately is Smith & Diction.

I think a local studio like them could have pulled off better branding that's more authentic to Philadelphia's character and the museum's legacy, while still being new.

But my biggest complaint is that this new branding is meant to be about putting Philadelphia first, and yet they again hired a NYC design firm to do the branding.

It could be in my head but the 'voice' in the branding, and the style, feels like a Brooklynite cosplaying a Philadelphian.

The brand is very typography forward and I think the design language looks fantastic on print and on posters.

The streetwear inspiration also makes it look great on the new clothes and merch, which I expect will sell well.

But on the walls of the museum, and next to the art, it looks awkward.

Which brings me to another observation: a rebranding is a chance to reintroduce yourself. You aren't just saying "Here's my new card" you're saying "Here's me in a new light".

Their rollout is all about the branding and the merch, not about showing how the new branding frames the existing museum.

Looking at their Instagram my gut feeling was that this feels like a well branded creative small art gallery, or maybe a streetwear brand.

And that's where I think the branding goes astray.

Fun is great! But in a literal sense I don't think the branding 'reads the room'. It's fighting the actual architecture of the museum to try to be a different sort of place.

First: the name. Changing to "Philadelphia Art Museum" is fine by me. It's what a lot of people call it anyways and in 10-20 years most will accept it.

The acronym: PhAM. It's cute but I think the playfulness of it draws too much attention and sets a tone that undermines some of the gravitas.