10. UNDERGROUND
The Baltimore Museum of Industry has been open since 1977 and publishing the quarterly Nuts & Bolts since 1982. “Its format left a lot to be desired,” says designer Carl Nielson, describing it as “boring, to say the least. The publication would highlight something like a new water fountain installed in the museum.”

The museum and its newsletter were so low key, in fact, that many people living in Baltimore didn’t even know where the museum was. So Nielson approached the museum with an idea of a brand makeover, and following that, he reinvented the newsletter as a classy publication covering real issues in Baltimore’s industrial community.

“The inspiration came from old magazine covers and newspaper designs from the early 1900s,” he says. “The museum has a variety of letterpresses and other antiquated machining equipment. I used typefaces that would appeal to an industrial aesthetic.” The goal was to avoid intimidating the casual reader while appealing to serious history buffs in an engaging way, combining dynamic imagery with interesting stories written by museum members and owners of local businesses.

“I have been working for the Baltimore Museum for some time,” Nielson says. “My neurotic personality came through in the details—lots of details. It was very successful. It showed that the museum was alive and kicking.” Dana Rouse