We rebranded the Queen’s House (The birthplace of British architectural Classicism)
The rebranding comes at a time of renewal and greatly increased profile for the site, for Greenwich and for the World Heritage Site as a whole. In 2012 , Greenwich Park will host the equestrian events for the London Olympic and Paralympic Games. In addition, to tie in with Her Majesty The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012, Greenwich is to be given the rare honour of becoming a Royal Borough in recognition of Greenwich’s global significance as the home of the Prime Meridian, Greenwich Mean Time and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
James I gave the manor of Greenwich to his wife Anne in apology for having sworn at her in public, after she accidentally shot one of his favourite dogs while hunting in 1614!
The Queen’s House was commissioned by Anne as a private pavilion and place of retreat. An architectural gem, it was Inigo Jones’ first important commission and the first fully classical renaissance building seen in Britain.
Today it houses one of the country’s most important collections of Maritime fine art and is somewhat the unsung hero of the World Heritage Site.
We felt that gold would be the perfect colour scheme for such a regal building and the collateral reflects and befits its heritage and modern day purpose as gallery and hireable venue.
Anecdotally, people see the splash as a crown when it’s in gold, perfect for a royal pavilion!
(although they still get letters addressed to the Queen apparently!)
Karl Randall, Senior Designer at SomeOne says “We wanted to make as big a splash as possible for the Museum, so we decided to create a 21st century image rendered entirely in CGI which would give us the opportunity to animate and light it, creating a flexible brand world that could evolve and adapt over time.”
David Law, co-founder of SomeOne explains “We created an entirely bespoke ‘splash’ that we then lit with different colours to make individual splashes for each of the three sites – sea blue for the Maritime Museum, gold for the Queen’s House and Royal purple for the Observatory. The ‘Group’ splash is clear water to represent the whole.”
David Law, co-founder of SomeOne continues “The best part is that people see different things in the splash — some see a crown, others see a ship, there’s even a star constellation amongst the droplets. We decided that it would be more reflective of the diverse offer of the group to keep these elements subtle, so you see a splash first and foremost, then maybe something else at a second glance – like seeing shapes in clouds.”
Karl Randall, Senior Designer at SomeOne elaborates “Alongside this, we have employed the beautiful typeface ‘Farnham’ by Christian Schwartz as a group typeface family for all communications. It is a contemporary take on 1700’s punchcutter Johannes Fleischmann’s work. Known for its ‘sparkle’ on the page, Farnham has been designed for the digital age and for us really reflects the new directions of the museum as a whole whilst acknowledging the past.”
Claire Hyde, Head of Communications at the National Maritime Museum says “SomeOne has produced an inspiring identity for us which reflects the huge steps we are taking to engage with our visitors in a contemporary, more conversational way.”
Lord Sterling, Chairman of the National Maritime Museum said: “Our maritime story is Britain’s national story. And understanding the way the past has shaped the present never been more important in enriching our understanding of the world and providing inspiration for the future. This visionary transformation would not have been possible without the support of Sammy Ofer and the Heritage Lottery Fund. In the Sammy Ofer Wing, our new exhibition space will introduce new generations of visitors to the many rich narratives bound up in our maritime story”.
As the identity rolls out, the splash will ‘come alive’ as the ‘liquidity’ brand world is further employed across digital signage and gallery projections.
http://www.someoneinlondon.com/category/projects/rebranding-the-queen%e2%80%99s-house