1 INTRODUCTION
2 ORGANIZATIONAL RESEARCH
3 DESIGN EXPLORATION
4 BRAND IDENTITY
5 APPLICATION
Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum is a natural history museum run by the Chicago Academy of Sciences since 1857. It focuses on the natural history of the Chicago region, and offers educational programs for children and adults. The museum is known for its live butterfly house. Beyond on-site exhibitions, the museum also includes laboratory and conservation programs to research and enhance local ecology.
To create a positive relationship between people and nature through collaborations, education, research and collections, exhibitions, and public forums to grow our region’s urban connection to the world of nature and science.
www.naturemuseum.org/about/
The museum mainly attracts families with children, educators, and natural science lovers. It targets a broad audience of all ages who lives in Chicago or the midwest region.
The museum was first founded in 1857 as the Chicago Academy of Sciences, for amateur scientists to study and share specimens. It was the first private scientific museum, as well as the first public museum in Chicago. The current building is the museum’s third home, donated by Dick and Peggy Notebaert at the end of last century.
1857
Founded as the Chicago Academy of Sciences
1869
Opened doors to all visitors
� Became Chicago’s first public museum
1871
The Great Fire of Chicago
� Rebuild collection after destruction by the fire
1960
The
1894
New museum site at Lincoln Park
� Rich collections of local flora and fauna
� Known for public lectures and an accessible museum collection
1893
World’s Columbian Exposition
� The establishment of the Field Museum
� The academy reorientated itself as a local leader in science
1983
Education Department Formalized
1999
Opening of the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum
� Expansion plans for more exhibition, storage and office space
Existing Brand Identity
A collection of the museum’s current trademark. Other than their main logo, there are at least five other variants in different forms and color combinations.
NOTEBAERT MUSEUM REBRANDING
There is a lack of consistency when comes to their choice of typefaces across different promotional materials. Here are three that appear on the museum’s official website.
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890
The current brand uses a muted color palette consists of blue, green, red, and yellow. Blue is used the most in all branding components.
Examples of existing brand application. The museum lacks control of logo usage, and would benefit from a structured system for consistency and guidance across diverse forms and mediums.
Three museum institutions in downtown Chicago. They are different in scale and purpose compare to the nature museum.
Field Museum
• Natural history museum
• Collection of artefacts and specimens
• National and international level museum
• Attracting 2 million visitors annually
Shedd Aquarium
• Indoor aquarium
• Attracting 2 million visitors annually
• Midwestern ecology focus
• Conservation and research initiatives
Lincoln Park Zoo
• Public outdoor zoo in Lincoln Park
• Family-orientated
• Youth programs
• Wildlife conservation programs
Other natural museums that are similar in scale in the United States. All of them have research institutions attached to public exhibition, also distinctive for their scientific research and education outreach programs.
California Academy of Sciences
• Research institute combine with natural history museum
• Houses 46 million specimens
• Four museums on site: natural history museum, planetarium, rainforest, and aquarium
The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University
• A part of Drexel University, PA
• Research, education, public engagement
• Exhibition content includes climate, ocean and rivers, dioramas, dinosaurs
Harvard Museum of Natural History
• Established as the public face of the three research museums in Harvard University
• University’s collection and research
• Botanic, mineral and comparative zoology collections
Here is a collection of logos of relating themes and concepts.
Purpose Statement
Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum is a natural history museum operated by the Chicago Academy of Sciences. Located in Lincoln Park, the museum has a long legacy that dates back to 1857. It is tasked to connect the city to the world of nature and science through exhibitions, education, outreach, and conservation.
Character Statement
The museum is recognised for its community science initiative where people of all ages can get involve and collaborate to scientific research. It is known for its butterfly haven which is accompanied by laboratory research and conservation program.
Platform — Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum is a community museum that provides Chicago residents an authentic connection to nature and science in the region. It offers exhibitions, education programs, as well as research and conservation initiatives. The museum is known for its butterfly haven and prides itself on having more hands-on science instruction than other museums in Chicago.
The museum solely focuses on the natural history of Chicago and the Midwest region. It has a strong emphasize on community science, interactive exhibitions and hands-on instruction, which differentiates from other similar museum institutions in the city which includes a broader scope and are orientate towards tourists.
Compare to other natural history museum institutions
Academic Research
Harvard Museum of Natural History
The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University
Local Collection
Shedd Aquarium
California Academy of Sciences
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
Global Collection Field Museum
Lincoln Park Zoo
Community Engagement
Curating a visual moodboard with images, to establish a sense of the overall tone of the brand.
Brainstorming
Exploring commonalities between main themes of museum, community, nature, and the local region.
The museum has been commonly known as “Notebaert Museum” among locals, hence I proposed to simplify the name to enhance clarity and brand memorability.
Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum
Notebaert Nature Museum
P.N. Nature Museum
Nature Museum
Notebaert Museum
Keywords
These are some keywords about the brand, summarized from the research phase to help guide the design direction.
Brainstorm Sketches
Brainstorming a variety of design ideas.
From the sea of sketches, I picked out ten design concepts to develop them further. I explored as much approaches as possible, ranging from typography to image-base, from minimal icons to dynamic systems.
* academic+friendly
* slab serif
* emphasise on “notebaert”
* children+education
* basic geometry
* children+fun
* shapes
* handwriting
From the sea of sketches, I picked out ten design concepts to develop them further. I explored as much approaches as possible, ranging from typography to image-base, from minimal icons to dynamic systems.
From the sea of sketches, I picked out ten design concepts to develop them further. I explored as much approaches as possible, ranging from typography to image-base, from minimal icons to dynamic systems.
fun, friendly shapes handwriting reference to original mark
After the design direction was selected, I experimented with different typefaces to create the form. It was more challenging to work with existing typefaces. I then switched to hand-lettering instead so I could customize individual letters and spaces in between.
Existing Typefaces
Design Development
Potential opportunity for a dynamic system using icons to represent the four components within the institute: research, exhibition, education, and conservation.
Figuring out a way to organize the letters so it fits into a circular container but does not lose legibility at the same time.
Color Explorations
An alternative design style that uses cursive lettering to improve legibility. It also opens the possibility for more organic and connected elements.
Logo
The logo is the primary visual icon of the museum’s identity. All letterforms are customised and should never be modified.
Minimum Size
To ensure legibility and impact, the logo should not be reproduced smaller than 1/2” in any print form.
The logo’s safe zone is same as the height of the stylized ‘o’ on all sides.
Logo Alternative
A black and white logo alternative if material is unable to be produced in color.
Logo with Container
Choose one of these logo options when there is a color background or imagery.
The logo should not be modified or recreate under any circumstances. Use the original version and avoid making new variations. Refer to the provided examples of approved color pairing and background combinations in the previous page.
DO NOT use unapproved color for logo
DO NOT put color logo on unapproved color background
DO NOT rotate or tilt logo
DO NOT distort or stretch logo
DO NOT add drop shadow or other effects
DO NOT place the logo on a complicated background that decrease legibility
Use one of these secondary logos in a formal situation that requires the full title of both the museum and Chicago Academy of Sciences.
NOTEBAERT MUSEUM REBRANDING
Typography
The brand uses apercu family as the primary typeface. All caps and italics are allowed to create visual hierarchy.
Titles and headlines —
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
1234567890
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
1234567890
Body —
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
1234567890
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
1234567890
Brand Color
All brand materials should be using the primary brand colors. Secondary colors are used as occasional highlights.
Primary Colors —
HEX #24a737
CMYK 78, 0, 100, 0
RGB 36, 167, 55
Secondary Colors —
HEX #00ace6
CMYK 78, 7, 0, 0
RGB 0, 172, 230
HEX #bdbdbd
CMYK 29, 22, 22, 3
RGB 189, 189, 189
HEX #000000
CMYK 91, 79, 62, 97 RGB 0, 0, 0
Decorative Element
Illustrative elements can be incorporated in brand materials as icon, graphic, and texture background. It is a modernized version of the previous logo. New icons are also introduced to ensure all elements are related to the museum or local region.
Previous brand logo
Iconography —
Extended decorative asset that integrates graphic icons with the typographic logo.
Icons can be tessellated to form patterns. Here are two color options for patterning.
Zoom pattern in and out to create a diverse graphic language. Scale of pattern can range from multiple repeats to single cropped icons.
The application of multuiple logo variations to stationery items. These items are only in primary brand colors.
Items that are important to the museum’s day-to-day operation, such as identification cards, admission badges, and museum gifts.
Museum Application
Museum map for visitors on exhibition and event information.
Environmental Application