The Newport Historical Society has debuted a new visual identity! Have you noticed?
Why, you might ask, would a 165-year-old organization want to have a new look? Well, while the NHS has had a steady mission over the past century and a half, the world has changed a great deal in that time. So, our goal – to reach a broad public audience with information about Newport County’s history and its place in the national and international story – looks a lot different in implementation now. Our visual presentation was a bit antiquarian, and did not really reflect the full range of our activities. This can present a problem when we are making the case that we matter to the community.
As part of strategic planning, this problem was identified as a likely impediment to audience development and to fundraising. A new look was prescribed. We contracted with Figmints of Pawtucket to help shepherd us to a new identity. Working with a team of Board and staff members, Figmints really engaged with us to help create a new brand that was appealing, useful, and deeply connected to the NHS and its needs.
Figmints first spent some time getting to know us, and they also looked at our colleagues to get a sense of how we are distinctive. They then surveyed members and friends of the NHS. This is what Figmints, and we learned:
- There was a consensus that while NHS has a wide variety of programming, the institution was not doing a good job connecting the dots for people between the various activities, initiatives and properties.
- They heard about the importance of NHS as a source for scholarship, study, and discovery.
- When asked “Why would you recommend NHS as a starting point for people visiting Newport,” the interviewees all agreed, in some variation, that visitors should begin with NHS because of the broad collection of art, artifacts, and architecture – we can tell the whole story.
These explorations led the team at Figmints to suggest that we develop a new brand identity that would do two important things.
- Connect all the many activities and holdings at the NHS, so that “a person can engage with one program or activity, and still get a sense of all the other possibilities.”
- Present the NHS as the place to start, to get oriented, and to get an overview of Newport’s history, whether you are a tourist, scholar, or resident.
In addition, we all hoped to create a visual presence for the NHS that would signal to our audiences that we were scholarly, but also entertaining, and modern in our approach to interpreting and educating about history. These things are true, and we need to show it!
The new stylized N logo is meant to evoke Newport, a compass, and the layers of history all at once. The five associated colors represent five major program areas of the NHS’s activities. The colors were chosen from the palate of colonial houses here in Newport.
Finally, the taglines. We have two, and both tested very well in online polling. History Starts Here encourages audiences to begin their exploration of Newport’s history with us. Endlessly Interesting reminds us that this history is big, varied, and has something for everyone.
We hope you like the new look – we already feel like it has been this way forever!
