Brief
Refresh a fictionalized brand identity for the Natural History Museum in Washington, DC. Design a branding system and website to make museum-going and learning about natural history fun for all ages.
Timeline
4 weeks
My Role
Branding and logo design
Digital and web design
Deliverables
∙ Branding Guidelines Document
∙ Social Story Templates
∙ Website Homepage
Tools
Adobe Illustrator
Figma
Brand Identity Guidelines
I created an extensive branding guidelines document to outline the full visual identity standards across the NHM brand and department sub-brands. The accent color pairing guide details which color combinations should be used or avoided, based on WCAG AA color contrast guidelines.
Medium tone colors for yellow, green, blue, and purple almost reach a 3:1 contrast ratio, and are acceptable for use with graphical imagery and text at larger sizes. The department-specific brand marks are used liberally throughout the NHM print collateral—on business cards, admission tickets, exterior signage, and more.
Website Design
High-Fidelity Wireframes
Visual Design
Animated Image Headers
The top header features the iconographic department marks along with stylized photography in a cycling animation that rotates through the seven distinct research categories. The white underline stays fixed below the color-coded headings, which transition in and out along with an icon-based carousel to convey a sense of playfulness and dynamism to new users visiting the site.
Homepage Design
Department and exhibit cards, along with photographic and text block treatment follow the same diagonal angle in the brand mark to further the dynamic tone of the brand identity, bringing cohesiveness across the full homepage design. Other large header links use the same arrow and underline style within a hover interaction to encourage user interactivity and allude to the exploratory theme found throughout the entire NHM identity.
Navigation Menu
A full-screen navigation fits best for this project, as the large number of pages wouldn't fit within a traditional horizontal menu at the top of the page. Brand iconography is brought into the navigation to visually distinguish the department sections (especially for younger audiences) and ensure a sense of brand recognition across each site page.
See Also: NHM Branding and Print Collateral
In addition to creating digital and website designs for Natural History Museum, I designed a full set of print collateral, including admission tickets, stationery, gift shop packaging, and exterior banners.
