National Portrait Gallery

Brand Identity

The National Portrait Gallery in London holds the world’s largest collection of portraits, offering a unique way to explore British history through the people who helped shape it. Each portrait captures a moment in time, allowing visitors to trace the country’s evolution.
Special Thanks to: Brad Bartlett  






LOGO
TThe logo was crafted by subtly shifting the letter o to form a colon—an element of punctuation often used to introduce ideas, highlight emphasis, or create contrast.




TYPE TREATMENT
I developed a custom typeface by drawing from the form of the logo, giving the gallery a distinctive visual identity that sets it apart from other portrait institutions—particularly the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery.



SYMBOLS
One challenge I’ve come across was the lack of a clear system for navigating the extensive portrait collection.

I was able to resolve this by developing a system that links each group of time periods to a distinct visual form, making them easier to identify and differentiate.






APPLICATION FOR SYMBOLS
The form not only represents a specific time period, but also doubles as a physical frame. This can be seen applied to web to help visitors explore the different time periods and learn more about them.




© 2025 Kandys Myoung