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I feel like we have got the perfect brand for the next 5 years at least
Sarah Hartshorne – Museum Development Programme Officer
MDEM
Creative Direction, Branding, Animation,
Web Design, Web Development
Museum Development East Midlands (MDEM) is part of a national network of Museum Development providers across England. They offer a continually updated programme of actvities and support targeted at the needs of accredited museums and those with ‘Working Towards Accreditation’ status.
Being an independent business, MDEM are lucky enough to have comms freedom, a website that is not affiliated with the council and their own brand and identity. During the first national lockdown Sarah Hartshorne wanted to make sure they were still visible to those needing help and guidance and to keep the trust they had worked hard to gain.
DeType came recommended to MDEM, and after trialling our services with a small project, the team found the process was so simple that they have only used DeType ever since.
They know what we want, we know what they need from us, and it just gets incrementally easier the more we do with them. I can’t imagine not doing it through DeType now.
Sarah Hartshorne
Museum Development Programme Officer
Sarah was impressed with the initial project DeType completed and this gave her the confidence to do a big brand overhaul, which was a significant step for MDEM.
As a company who is fully funded, it is important that they show value for money in everything that they do, and that it benefits their users, which in this case are the museums.
THE CHALLENGE:
Uncertain future during the pandemic
Due to time constraints, staff turnover, external funding and the affiliation with the council, they had kept the same branding for a long time. A strong brand was essential due to the uncertainty surrounding the Cultural Arts sector during the pandemic, and the first lockdown was the perfect time for the group to start focussing on a complete refresh.
Being an independent business, MDEM are lucky enough to have comms freedom, a website that is not affiliated with the council and their own brand and identity. During the first national lockdown Sarah Hartshorne wanted to make sure they were still visible to those needing help and guidance and to keep the trust they had worked hard to gain.
With our guidance and support they came to the decision to be bold and create a new vision, answering questions such as…
What are they now? What will they be in the future?
We set off with a completely blank canvas to create the logo and colour palette. Giving MDEM a fresh pair of eyes and a different perspective, asking questions about what they want to convey, their aims and objectives. Sarah felt that there was no connection previously between what they wanted to say and what the brand was saying so this was an exciting phase for them.
It was refreshing to do the rebrand and website through the lens of someone who was not in the cultural arts sector and not one of our service users.
Sarah Hartshorne
Museum Development Programme Officer
As a small team who spend all their working hours delivering, they don’t usually have the time to have creative conversations. With days consisting of logistics and admin, it was paramount that they carved out the time from their busy schedules to get this right.
By going through the design process, they admitted to having some surprisingly challenging conversations and a range of initial design options! “They were constantly tweaking the logo, on a mission to get things spot on” and they give all the credit to DeType who led them on the road to the perfect brand.
For me personally, it was so exciting getting the new website; it’s easier to use, speaks more quickly to what we want to say and do.
Sarah Hartshorne
Museum Development Programme Officer
Next was the website. Their current site was very static – very 2010! It did what it was meant to do but it wasn’t dynamic. Being a very vibrant group, they needed a website that could hold its own in the changing environment.
MDEM are delighted with their updated site — it is easier to use, and it communicated their vision. People can book events, complete applications and post news; however, it is their blogs that have had the most impact. People are using the website more and referencing the content, it gets linked to from other websites which in turn has a huge impact on the traffic to the site. It isn’t just updating news articles and government guidance anymore; it is varied, energising, and engaging.
The website backs us up all the time, like we know what we are doing! Even if we don’t, it looks like we do, because it’s so modern and fresh and bouncy.
Sarah Hartshorne
Museum Development Programme Officer
MDEM finally had a new brand that represented their vision and a website that has become an essential hub of information within their sector.
The feedback has been wonderful from their main clients; the museums, as well as from their funders and stakeholders.
To have a positive news story in the last year has been a highlight for their whole organisation.
Feedback from stakeholders is that the site looks fantastic and it’s user-friendly. Museums have been displaying and sharing the branding, which creates interest on-site and in eye catching exhibition panels.
The credit to Sam and the team is that it never felt too intimidating or frustrating, it felt like we were trusting the process. We just went with it, and we got the result we wanted.
Sarah Hartshorne
Museum Development Programme Officer
Having the continuity through all the above processes with the same company has proven to be very fruitful for Sarah and MDEM. From the logo, the colour palette, the comms and the website they now have a great visual aesthetic that is clean and says what they want it to say. They have a brand that continues to be trusted and is in line with their vision and that has a legacy.