Natural History Museum brings brand identity in line with new mission and vision

As the UK’s most popular museum approaches its 150th birthday with a bold new strategy, a vision of a future where both people and the planet thrive and a mission to create advocates for the planet – it now has a new identity to match its ambitions.

The new symbol which appears on the Museum’s digital platforms this week and is being introduced across all collateral in the coming months, references earth and the universal connection between everything in nature. Featuring a circular formation of the letters NHM, it represents the energy of a ripple effect, which pulsates from the centre to form a three-colour sunburst. It’s a shape born from nature— embodying the collective energy and positivity that reflects the Museum’s mission to become an agent for change.

The Museum worked with creative agencies Heavenly, Pentagram Design and Nomad Studio on the project, supported by its internal design, marketing and digital teams to create this new brand.

The Museum’s Head of Marketing Richard Orr and Head of Public Space Programme Lucy Clark spearheaded the work. Richard says: “With a bolder and more contemporary voice the new brand positioning can better engage both existing and new audiences and help us highlight how the Museum is finding solutions to the urgent issues that face our planet.”

Lucy adds: “With dynamism and motion at its heart, our new brand reflects the catalytic power of our collections, world-leading scientific expertise and enormous audience reach.”

The Museum commenced the rebrand by partnering with creative consultancy Heavenly on a comprehensive brand strategy programme, establishing a new and distinct proposition and narrative which consequently informed the brand tone of voice and overall visual identity.

Pentagram and Nomad combined as one team to bring both deep cultural experience and digital first thinking to help deliver this bold ambition. They worked to interpret the brand strategy developed by Heavenly. 

Andy Hayes, Managing Partner at Heavenly said: “The Natural History Museum is one of the UK’s national treasures, and it’s a huge privilege to work with them. Our work was designed to capture and reflect the passion held for the museum by visitors and staff alike, and the energy that generates, which Pentagram‘s dynamic design execution builds on perfectly.”

Marina Willier, Partner at Pentagram Design said: “Our team created a mindset shift from passive catalogue to active catalyst - creating advocates for the planet. More than museum, more than history, a pioneer in science and advocacy, at a crucial inflection point in time.” 

Pentagram and Nomad also defined the brand logic with the symbol working in combination and uniting all of the Museum’s sites, including South Kensington, Tring and the new scientific facility which will be located at the University of Reading’s Thames Valley Science Park. The initials NHM can connect to the long form name in different compositions for various museum locations and parts of the offer. 

Brand details

The brand palette has a broad and energetic combination of colours, to reflect the diversity in nature and life and invites audiences of all backgrounds and origins to participate and enjoy its activities.

Circular patterns and Word Rings have a strong connection to the symbol. They can be static or moving and are the visual representation of a catalyst. They can move, grow, expand, change form and communicate, creating an instantly recognisable element that brings colour and energy. Word Rings feature contextual words in circles and can be used with images or as text-only. For easy creation of Patterns and Word Rings, the team created a Generator, a tool that can be used to design both static and motion outputs through coding, making it easy for all designers working with the brand to keep consistency as well as flexibility.

The new symbol will appear on the Museum’s marketing campaign later this month

The new typeface NHM Wallop (a custom version of Display Type Foundry’s Wallop) is friendly, straightforward and confident to reflect a brand that is accessible and inclusive.

Motion features strongly throughout the identity, taking inspiration from nature and bringing the Museum’s brand to life, and when applied to the new logo, the movement helps it become instantly recognisable. Full of energy, dynamism and momentum, the motion channels four nature-inspired routes: Ripple, Grow, Pulsate and Orbit. A series of sound-reactive animations also add a joyful and expressive element and celebrate the creatures that everyone loves.

Ends

Natural History Media contact: Tel: +44 (0)20 7942 5654 / 07799690151 Email: press@nhm.ac.uk  

The Natural History Museum is both a world-leading science research centre and the most-visited indoor attraction in the UK. With a vision of a future in which both people and the planet thrive, it is uniquely positioned to be a powerful champion for balancing humanity’s needs with those of the natural world.

It is custodian of one of the world’s most important scientific collections comprising over 80 million specimens accessed by researchers from all over the world both in person and via over 37 billion digital data downloads to date. The Museum’s 350 scientists are finding solutions to the planetary emergency from biodiversity loss through to the sustainable extraction of natural resources.

The Museum uses its global reach and influence to meet its mission to create advocates for the planet - to inform, inspire and empower everyone to make a difference for nature. We welcome millions of visitors through our doors each year, our website has had 17 million visits in the last year and our touring exhibitions have been seen by around 20 million people in the last 10 years.