The National Portrait Gallery, located in London, England, became the first ever collection of portraits in 1856. All of their paintings, video portraits, photographs, miniatures and large sculptures on display depict the individuals who have influenced Britain from the late Middle Ages to the present day.
This fictional re-branding project began with research into the National Portrait Gallery. Statistics collected over the past two years showed that out of the 2 million visitors, the largest groups were locals, tourists and students. In a corporate plan released by the Gallery, they explain that they are looking to keep these audiences intrigued and maintain the steady rise in total annual visitors. The Gallery would also like to reach untapped audiences who have yet to visit. I spoke with their communications manager to hear more about the visitors’ experience. Consistent positive feedback they receive is in regards to the quality and extent of their collection.
In 1992, the National Portrait Gallery created two main goals in defining what they do. I succinctly condensed these into the following brand statement: “Discover the portraits of those who have made and who are making British history and culture.” This became a forward facing part of the brand that would also allow my creative strategy to remain focused throughout the entire process.
The final rebrand features an icon and a wordmark. A “P”, representing the sitter, is placed on top of the black rectangle to create the icon. This alludes to the creation process of a portrait. The small “D” shape produced through the layering stands for the act of “discovery” within the gallery, which connects to the brand statement. This shape can be used as a frame for various faces as a way to intrigue the public to visit and discover the rest of the portrait. The shapes can also remain black and become a variety of different compositions and patterns. The wordmark uses a round sans-serif to allude to the features of a human face and to also maintain a slightly more contemporary look. This brand, therefore, can become a flexible system to promote the new additions to local visitors and work as a tool to visually communicate the extensive collection to new potential visitors. Using a simple icon to accompany the word mark allows for the name to stand out, but opens up opportunities for the brand to expand and become dynamic.
The primary colours of the brand are black and white to avoid it competing with the images. For the collateral applications, this secondary colour palette can be introduced to inject a vibrancy into the page. The warm and cool colours are a direct influence from the interior of the gallery. Using one cool and one warm colour together provides an opportunity to translate the space of the gallery in the public sphere.
