This post is brought to you by the letter W.

W is for wonderful

The Whitney Museum will be moving from its upper Madison Avenue (NYC) location to new digs downtown in 2015 and is marking the occasion with a new logo and identity.

Designed to be more “responsive” (in communications and across platforms) than the original wordmark created by Pentagram, it is now on exhibit in advertising, packaging, signage, web and other collateral. According to Experimental Jetset, the consultancy behind the logo, it embodies “Whitney’s non-linear approach to art history – and the industrial architecture of the new Whitney building.” It also solves the problem of integrating artwork, logo and other information in an intuitive and clear-visioned way.

It’s everything I love about my hometown—dynamic, sharp-elbowed and always new.

On the other hand, when it comes to logos, not all change is good as Prince William County (VA) recently discovered. Many lessons to be learned, not least of which is choose a local design firm, get the deciders on board early and have a strategy that everyone can agree on. From poor politics to inept presentation, it is a case study in how not to brand an organization.