Client
Intrepid Museum
Be Curious. Be Inspired. Be Intrepid.
Tronvig and GreyBox Creative rebranded the Intrepid Museum, a New York City icon that many know from the museum’s highly visible aircraft carrier parked in the Hudson River but is much more than the one impressive historical artifact.
“As we’ve grown and evolved as a world-class cultural institution, it became clear that our brand needed to evolve with us as well.”
“The new, more contemporary design of our logo broadens our ability to define ourselves, becoming less limiting and allowing us to elevate the perception to meet who and what we are. This refreshed iconography and name better capture where we are today and where we aspire to be, while also providing exciting opportunities to expand our reach.”
Before
With a long name and a very literal visual identity depicting a silhouette of the aircraft carrier, Intrepid, the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum Complex needed to update its brand position and presentation to more accurately reflect its greatly expanded offer and better position the museum among its peer institutions in the top tier of New York City museums.
After
We shortened the name to reflect how people typically refer to the museum, developed a new mark, visual identity system, and tagline: Be Curious. Be Inspired. Be Intrepid. The new identity is simple and ownable yet flexible enough to support the organization’s robust offer.
Discovery: Brand Pyramid
An organizational Brand Pyramid was developed in workshops led by James Heaton as project lead and validated through research conducted by Tronvig to ground the rebranding process.
1. What is the Intrepid Museum?
The only museum of its kind in the world—a place to immerse yourself in awe-inspiring technological marvels and stories past, present & future.
2. How does the Intrepid Museum deliver its benefits?
- Big & Bold Things (Awe inspiring technological marvels)
- Authentic, Immersive Experiences (incl. human interactions)
- Fun place to visit (for the whole family)
3. Why?
[Redacted]
4. Core Values
- Inclusivity
- Integrity
- Innovation
5. Brand Idea
Big & Bold
“James did an amazing job bringing together a large group of internal stakeholders who were, at times, all over the place. It was difficult to create a visual identity and branding while seeking everybody’s buy-in. However, James workshopped the group and brought the stakeholders together in many key areas. The way James did this early in the engagement through a variety of tactics was one of the biggest pieces of success in our partnership with them.”
Actions
We substantially overhauled the entire brand system
- Simplified organizational name
- New Core Values
- New tagline
- Updated positioning and key messaging derived from research
And working closely with our frequent collaborators at GreyBox Creative
- New logo and comprehensive visual identity system
- Consumer advertising
- B2B advertising
“You assert yourself to guide us to consensus, which is not an easy thing to do. You took all of our feedback and you completely poured it into what you had presented last time and then you came back with these fresh new options incorporating what you heard from us. Everyone on our team arrived at the same place saying ‘Wow!’ at the same time. I think it’s brilliant and I’m grateful.”
“Having a team that was small, nimble, and willing to be dedicated to our organization was crucial for the project’s success, and they met this requirement. On top of that, their brand strategy was impressive. They had a lot of experience working with the cultural sector and understood these organizations. Such organizations rely on fundraising and grant support, so the team’s experience working with them was a plus.”
Results
The new core values, brand system, and visual identity has been enthusiastically embraced by the staff and board and welcomed by the visiting public. The Intrepid Museum now has a brand that is manageable, flexible, and in sync with where the organization is headed.
