Imperial War Museums

Imperial War Museums wanted to clarify their market position and create an internationally recognised brand for a national family of museums. With its three museums in London (Churchill War Rooms, HMS Belfast and the main museum in Lambeth), the organisation also operates Imperial War Museum North and the former WW2 RAF base at Duxford. These five museums are all very different and were hampered by a confusing brand architecture and naming structure.

The challenge was to create a brand that not only defined the relationship and commonality between the different parts but also was relevant to each organisation. Through visitor focus groups and staff workshops we developed a brand based on the idea of ‘the force of war’ which aims to capture the powerful impact of war on the lives of everyone it touches. We also defined a common market positioning, values and messaging for the five museums to ensure an improved understanding of the museums’ diverse range of activities and multiple sites.

Using the abbreviation IWM allowed us to develop a much simpler naming structure. IWM is now used as a prefix for each of the five sites, reinforcing the idea of a family of museums. Hat-trick designed a visual identity that expresses the central idea of force, which led to the use of fragmented blocks in the new marque.