On the eve of its 125th anniversary, the Field Museum sought to establish itself as a forward-thinking leader in scientific discovery by way of a new brand identity – one that would work hard to galvanize and clarify who they are, what they do, and what they stand for. This new approach is a bold, purposeful change, aimed at transforming the brand’s image from an aging, passive institution into an active, relevant force for good. The logo includes two squares: The small square represents the tiny fraction of the Museum’s collection on display, while the large square represents the museum’s massive collection as a whole.

Selected as one of Brand New’s Top 10 Best Reviewed of 2018.

Square Grid System



The logo inspired and informed the wider design system through a flexible, modular grid, based on the square.

Mummies Exhibit



The first Exhibit to utilize the new brand identity – the campaign made full use of the modular square grid system to create bold, dynamic executions that maximized space, and leveraged the exhibit's groundbreaking new X-ray mummy photography as a key visual.

Launch Campaign



Based around the playful double entendre of the tagline "Earth. We're On It," the launch campaign was an effort to reestablish the Field Museum as a dynamic research institution responsible for groundbreaking research in a multitude of fields, with impact both local and global.

Credits

EVP Design Director: Alisa Wolfson
Design, Case Study Animation: Scott Cress
Design: Rob Schellenberg, Natalia Kowaleczko, Kyle Poff
Writer: Pete Lefebyre
Logo Animation: Brent Clouse
Additional Case Study Animation: Gabriel Ribes
Project Manager: Phoebe Alvarez
Leo Burnett Dept of Design

All work © Scott Cress

scress2@gmail.com