Museums Sheffield
Responsible for running four of the city’s museums – Graves Gallery, the Millennium Gallery, Bishops’ House and Weston Park – Sheffield Galleries and Museum Trust had a serious recognition problem. Few realised that the museums’ Gulbenkian award-nominated work was steered by the Trust, whilst its communications, with their cluster of unrelated logos, failed to convey that this was a family of connected organisations.
Our solution was the creation of a ‘constellation brand’ which made clear the inter-relation of the museums and the Trust. The closer you get to encountering the individual museums, the more they come into view. When experienced from a distance, the Trust is the focus.
In the logotype, the new name – Museums Sheffield – chosen for its simplicity and memorability, is set as a single word. The double ‘s’ appears as a distinctive character which quotes the world-famous Sheffield cutlery hallmark. When used in conjunction with one of the ‘family members’ (for instance, Museums Sheffield: Weston Park) the close relationship between the two is made clear. We devised a tone of voice that conveys the organisation’s distinct personality: ‘down to earth, light on our feet’.
The brand idea – ‘a leap of confidence’ – is an invitation to try new experiences. To encourage everyone to ‘let themselves go’, we identified the values the organisation should live by as: generous, open, authoritative and brave.
The re-brand process began on 18th April 2007 and was launched in time for the opening of the Vivienne Westwood exhibition on 28th May 2008. With a target visitor figure of 40,000 – 50,000, this flagship event gave major exposure of the new identity to the public.
Design by: Ned Campbell