UCL The Grant Museum of Zoology
A visual identity for the museum's membership scheme
The Grant Museum is the only remaining university zoological museum in London and was originally founded in 1827 as a teaching collection. It's still used by UCL students today. It's now open and free to the general public.
The museum’s 67,000 specimens span the entire animal kingdom and include many rare and extinct creatures. This includes skeletons of the Dodo and the zebra-like quagga (which lived in South Africa and was hunted out of existence in the 1880s), as well as pure oddities, not least the jar of moles.
One of the surprising things about the collections is that they are actively used for teaching and research by UCL academics and the wider research community. They all have stories to tell about evolution, the climate crisis and human impact on the world.
Our brief was to create a new visual identity for the museum’s membership scheme that excites and intrigues audiences about the collections. The new scheme invites members to choose one of eight specimens to support and take them on a journey to learn more about the the innovations they have led to.
Deliverables
- Image creation|
- Visual identity platform|
- Identity communication assets|
- Animated assets
Creating the concept
Gaining an understanding of the specimens and unlocking the stories behind them.
Visual storytelling
Our design strategy was to take members on their own journey of discovery, to learn more about the collection’s individual specimens and innovations, their past and how they can impact the future. We created a visual of a DNA path, revealing visual story secrets around each specimin, which would come to life in animated communications.
A journey of discovery
The creation of the DNA path linking specimens with their secrets. Different colour treatments were created for membership and Family membership schemes
Social media promotion
The DNA path flowed and animated through social media assets, bringing stories to life.
Internal museum branding
Visual branding around key journey points around the museum including visual screens to help bring stories to life.
Museum external branding
Visual branding on permanent sites around the museum and external advertising
Membership merchandise
Membership includes themed items to help remember your visit to the museum, including tote bags, individual postcards, colouring books for kids and individual specimen certificates.
Respecting the past learning for the future
The many rare specimens in the Grant Museum’s vast teaching collection is still used by UCL’s students today. By unravelling the stories and findings of the past, each specimen can tell us about their evolution and help the present day climate crisis and human impact on the world for future generations.
