Eye Film Museum step by step more visible

Do you have a brand style that no longer quite fits who you are? Are you dreading the hard work and time it takes to make all your resources completely fresh and contemporary again? If you do it step by step it shouldn’t be too bad. Because it doesn’t all have to be different overnight. You can also gradually transform a brand. I helped Eye Film Museum do that over the last five years. Gradually, all expressions took on a more consistent and powerful look. All activities and expressions now reinforce each other. We took the opportunity to fill in the blanks and make everything easier to use.

In search of the connecting factor

Eye was created in 2010 by a merger of the Filmmuseum, Holland Film, Filmbank and the Netherlands Institute for Film Education. Within the first eight years of its founding and moving into the new building on the IJ, Eye had already worked with three successive design firms on its branding. As a result, the brand identity had become a mix that suited no one anymore. Time to make clear choices. We began with a series of strategic sessions with management to determine what the connecting factor is between Eye’s diverse activities.

Then we started working internally at Eye. Tackling everything at once was not an attractive option because of the recent history. Therefore, we determined priorities in several working sessions with the communications consultants and other stakeholders. We looked at the building blocks that were already there, at what we wanted to keep, and at what was missing. And how we could apply the existing building blocks, such as the font, differently. We developed a style that is inspired by the movement of movie credits. With a color palette based on projection colors. And with a tone of voice befitting a confident Eye.

Eye Film Museum step by step more visible

Do you have a brand style that no longer quite fits who you are? Are you dreading the hard work and time it takes to make all your resources completely fresh and contemporary again? If you do it step by step it shouldn’t be too bad. Because it doesn’t all have to be different overnight. You can also gradually transform a brand. I helped Eye Film Museum do that over the last five years. Gradually, all expressions took on a more consistent and powerful look. All activities and expressions now reinforce each other. We took the opportunity to fill in the blanks and make everything easier to use.

In search of the connecting factor

Eye was created in 2010 by a merger of the Filmmuseum, Holland Film, Filmbank and the Netherlands Institute for Film Education. Within the first eight years of its founding and moving into the new building on the IJ, Eye had already had three successive design firms on the floor. As a result, the brand identity had become a mix that suited no one anymore. Time to make clear choices. We began with a series of strategic sessions with management to determine what the connecting factor is between Eye’s diverse activities.

Then we started working internally at Eye. Tackling everything at once was not an attractive option because of the recent history. Therefore, we determined priorities in several working sessions with the communications consultants and other stakeholders. We looked at the building blocks that were already there, at what we wanted to keep, and at what was missing. And how we could apply the existing building blocks, such as the font, differently. Thus, we developed a style inspired by the movement of movie credits. With a color palette based on projection colors. And with a tone of voice befitting a confident Eye.

#eyelovefilm

A museum like Eye does not have the budget to constantly commission new expressions for social media. We came up with a concept through which Eye claims the role of the national authority on film. In the campaign, we use film dialogues, film locations, and elements from film scripts. The fun is in recognizing them, so we don’t explain everything. Depending on the target audience, we use well-known films or some more obscure art-house films. Handy templates ensure that Eye can make many different expressions with this concept without any help.
As a gimmick, we created a series of gifs featuring clips from Eye’s historical collection.

Unity in diversity

Scholars and students, the members of the Eye society, the business audience for venue rental, and the donors of u&eye: for each target group we draw from the same set of building blocks but make a variation in how we use them.

Make it easy

The right tools are all that matters. From a report to flyers and brochures, we created tools and templates that make it easy for Eye to create everything in the right style.

We also created a set of building blocks to use graphics consistently in videos. And of course, we also made an Eye leader of which we have a short and a long version.

Over the past 5 years, we have created so much that it can’t all fit on this page. For example, rules and templates for narrowcasting within Eye, some animated trailers, Powerpoint templates, banners, advertisements, and much more. Thus Eye has gradually acquired a recognizable appearance and sound through all means and channels.

Concept and design
Danny Kreeft and Marieke Griffioen

Brand Strategy
Suzanne van Gompel (for Edenspiekermann) and Marieke Griffioen

Copy
Joep Luycx, Jan-Willem Vergouwen en Ginette Lavell

Motion design
Dialogen: In60seconds. Video building blocks and leader: Harold Houdijk (Asteroids)

Correspondence
Jenny Labaar, implementation by Tim Dol (Keyscript).

Photo Eye building
Mark Hadden

The website was created by Bravoure. I advised on the application of brand style.

People I’ve collaborated with on resources not listed on this page: Yvonne Kroese, René Gast en KH Music (Animations Eye Classics en Film Noir), Magoz (Animation Previously Unreleased), Liliane Meijnen / Made by Lime (Powerpoint), Wouter Sessink (Video edits).