Henry Brand Refresh

Henry Art Gallery, UW
2022 – 23
Corporate Branding

The last brand iteration/rebrand that the Henry executed was in 2014, and was based on the concept of amplifying the many voices that the Henry represents; artists, community, visitors, etc., and the main driver of this was the ever-changing Henry logo, which was to be rendered in a different font for all executions, as well as generally using typography set in large and unusual ways to inspire curiosity. The color palette also was open to any shade of green to contrast with the secondary black and white colors. Upon my hiring in 2019, I realized that while this was a really interesting concept, it lacked brand recognition in the marketplace due to the lack of visual consistency. My mission was to not fully rebrand—as I feel the original brand intentions are strong—but to iterate and harness the core concepts in a way that would lend itself to a more recognizable Henry design system that uses the typography of the Henry logo to create shapes, and patterns, and increase brand design flexibility. I honed the logo and colors down to one single option each, for visual consistency across uses. Utilizing user testing in the community and think-tank meetings with board members and changemakers in the community, we then implemented the release of a brand tagline, "Art Unbound", that works in concert with the University of Washington's slogan of "Be Boundless."

Solidifying new signature design elements and refreshing our institutional spaces – in and out of the galleries, in print and digital, new environmental signage, website front-end updates, and the release of a new line of Henry merchandise, this brand iteration was publically released from September 2022 to early February 2023.

Creative Lead: Stephanie A. Fink
Supporting Designers: Summer Li, Mariah Irwin, Aliyah Baruso
Communications Director: Tanja Baumann