The Neon Museum by Amber Asay

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CLIENT

Locat­ed in Las Vegas, NV, the muse­um fea­tures vin­tage signs from old casi­nos, hotels, and restau­rants dat­ing back to the ear­ly 1900s. Their largest dis­play area is called the “Bone­yard” with more than 150 neon signs. The Muse­um is a non­prof­it orga­ni­za­tion that was found­ed in 1996. 

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BRIEF

Mar­ket the com­pa­ny as a long-stand­ing, suc­cess­ful muse­um, cen­tered around the unique expe­ri­ence it has to offer guests. Their cur­rent audi­ence con­sists of locals and enthu­si­asts, but not always the aver­age Vegas tourist. After research­ing com­peti­tors, it was decid­ed the com­pa­ny need­ed a stronger pres­ence around the strip along with a more mod­ern iden­ti­ty and mar­ket­ing approach. Achiev­ing this through bill­boards, ban­ner ads, and an inter­ac­tive tour app were a few of the ini­tial proposals.

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APPROACH

The logo as a stacked neon sign sym­bol­izes con­nect­ing the old with the new. It’s con­sis­tent­ly attached to an edge to also sup­port its iden­ti­ty as a sign. Imagery is cropped to show a micro view of their col­lec­tions and acts as a teas­er for what the neon expe­ri­ence is all about. The scat­tered typog­ra­phy treat­ments found in most appli­ca­tions are based on the pre­sen­ta­tion of the signs in the Bone­yard. The smart phone app was also designed to inform guests dur­ing their tour. All exe­cu­tions point back to the unique expe­ri­ence Neon Muse­um offers.

The Neon Museum project evolved over several months of hard work. It began as something very literal and became a beautiful strategy that was rooted in the viewer’s perception. Amber persisted until she was able to achieve the right solution for the client. Through careful restraint, the imagery offers a glimpse of the overwhelming spectacle that is Las Vegas. Rather than duplicating what the museum already had, she elevated the design into a modern brand that a contemporary market can identify with. The concept is extremely effective because each typographic nuance and photographic direction creates an emotional connection to the overall experience. — Adrian Pulfer, Instructor at Brigham Young University