SomeOne's energetic identity for National Museums Liverpool looks to an optimistic future

SomeOne has unveiled its identity for National Museums Liverpool (NML), which have just reopened following months of lockdown. The overhauled brand is a fresh approach that is "riding a new wave of optimism that will take it into the future," according to the London studio.

Written By: Katy Cowan

24 June 2021

Three promotional posters for National Museums Liverpool featuring the new identity with wavy lines and the taglines "Dressed to impress", "Humans and Bees" and "Bones and Stones

The new identity unites and promotes seven museums under the NML banner including the Museum of Liverpool, World Museum, International Slavery Museum, Maritime Museum, Walker Art Gallery, Sudley House, and Lady Lever Art Gallery. It also establishes a new design system for the group's sub-brands such as its corporate events business 'Hosted by' and the award-winning dementia awareness programme, 'House of Memories'.

Replacing the current L-shaped ribbon logo, SomeOne has introduced a visual "wave of energy" that runs across branded items, and depicts the letters 'N', 'M' and 'L' on a colour palette of black, white and rhodamine. It's quite the contrast from the previous branding, which gave each venue its own typographically driven look and feel and its own colour system.

"This individualistic design ethos, while understandably attractive to each venue, had led to many visitors leaving unaware that they had visited one of the nation's most important museums – let alone that they were connected," says Simon Manchipp, founder of SomeOne.

Museum of Liverpool's distinctive angular architecture reflected in the dock water, with the new National Museums Liverpool branding visible on the building's facade

Fanned arrangement of National Museums Liverpool branded materials featuring magenta and black covers with white wavy letterforms and photographs of artworks and museum visitors

"Museums often carry predictable branding that hopes the exhibits alone will excite and provoke visitors," Simon adds. "We’ve created a radical new strategic, visual and verbal direction for Liverpool’s world-class attractions. Like its new exhibitions, the brand is now bright, progressive and delivered in a way that is never dull."

A new written strategy promises the group is "never dull" – a line that sets out the organisation to be "focused on progress, in celebrating change and embracing the future in dynamic ways".

Bright pink branded materials for National Museums Liverpool featuring a dynamic white wave graphic and vintage camera imagery

Two posters for National Museums Liverpool's new identity featuring wavy graphic lines and the "Museums and Memories" programme, one showing a woven basket and the other showing visitors at a museum

The new brand will be updated across the National Museums Liverpool estate both internally and externally to anything that would support the brand, including building fabric, online platforms, forms, policies, internal platforms, wayfinding, uniforms, marketing materials, and venue dressing.

Launching this month, all changes will be in place by the time the Museum of Liverpool marks its 10th birthday on 19 July, "representing a new moment for the organisation, as it looks forward to the next decade of change and exciting developments, with one promise… it will be anything but dull".