In December 2010, we wanted to serve our community by donating a major brand overhaul to a local, non-profit organization. Grand Rapids Children’s Museum was the perfect fit for this work. Their focus on child development and creative play outlets were incredibly inspiring to us, and we wanted to give them something back for all of their efforts.

We created a fresh, new identity that reflects elements of GRCM’s old identity and stays true to their brand. Custom, childlike typography was hand-drawn to give a sense of friendliness to the identity. To convey GRCM’s expertise on the Value of Play, we juxtaposed a regal serif (Eames Century Modern) against the organic type. This typeface is a modern variation on Century, a typeface often used in children’s schoolbooks.

A colorful block pattern was established in the identity and was repeated throughout the rest of the system. Not only do these colorful squares reflect the tiles of GRCM’s iconic outdoor mural, but they also represented the diversity present within the Museum walls. GRCM is a safehaven where nationality, gender, and age do not exist, and a place where the local community can unite in the joy of childhood playtime and learning.

Brochures

Stationery System

Magazine Advertisement

Entrance Signage

Outdoor Banner

Admission Sign

Sponsor Sign

Bathroom Sign

Read more about the Children’s Museum website here.

Related Links

www.grcm.org

Grand Rapids Children’s Museum (GRCM) advertises every year in Solace, a semi-annual premier West Michigan magazine. After Icavia was given the opportunity to rebrand the museum, GRCM wanted a fresh new look given to their print advertisements, too.

This fresh new messaging features a quote from one of the most advanced thinkers of all time: Albert Einstein. He was often quoted describing how playfulness and imagination were far more important than pure knowledge, and that creatively bending knowledge through imaginative means was of the utmost importance. The folks at GRCM are true experts on play, imagination building, and child development, so the quote from this expansive mind was an apt fit.

Check back soon to learn more about the GRCM rebranding and to view examples of our work.

MyGR6.com is a community-driven experience which invites Grand Rapidians to speak their minds—in only 6 words—about why they love Grand Rapids, Michigan. Though most of the graphic design elements were determined in-house at Amway, Icavia was responsible for the UX design and technical implementation of the digital experience.

The key feature of the site includes the ability for users to enter 6 words about their love for Grand Rapids. After the responses are submitted, they are updated in a live stream so that users can always see what others are saying about their great city. Each user can then print out their 6 words and showcase them in a window, their car, or on their desk at work. Their responses will be judged, and 6 winners will receive prizes that amount to over $10,000 each.

Surprisingly (even to us), it required a fair amount of technical wizardry to execute this twitter-esque campaign. Some of the technical achievements that were implemented include:

• ASP.NET MVC 3 and C# with Razor Markup
• HTML 5
• Mobile friendly (iOS and Android)
• Email verification with a print-ready page to share your 6
• User Experience (UX) tracking