I can hear it now, Laura, what do you MEAN you ‘opened a museum’?!
Yep, you read that right— a museum. But don’t be fooled by the name, I’m not talking about dusty relics or ‘look but don’t touch’ vibes. Let me take you on a tour of a Museum for the Curious— a collection of curios, unique inspiration and of course, a few cheeky surprises.
The Origin Story
Let’s go back in time. In the months leading up to the rebrand of my design business, I worked with my wonderful friend Nicole Quinton of Independent Creatives* to develop some ideas to celebrate my rebrand.
Marketing? For me, it’s been a bit like that plant you forget to water. Over the years, I’ve neglected it almost entirely with many a email template, social media campaign and podcast idea left on the cutting room floor.
But for this rebrand, I really wanted to create something different that was interactive and fun.
You see, I’ve always been a collector of things**.
Truthfully, I think one of my big strengths as a brand designer is being able to draw on my library of knowledge I’ve curated over the years. Useless (until we’re at trivia) fun facts and snippets of vintage imagery are curated into my own mental collage, primed and ready to be used as unique inspiration for a design or branding idea. I’ve found over the years some of my most favourite work has been inspired by a seemingly random idea that is then expanded into a brand identity which feels totally unique and unlike anything else.
Some examples you ask?
A vintage 1950s postcard inspired the retro Palm Springs vibe of the Wicker Darling brand identity. The fun-loving fashion brand even includes some illustrations of vintage stamps and other postage marks, albeit in a contemporary aesthetic.
Going down the rabbit hole of traditional Filipino tattooing (inspired by founder Eden’s heritage) lead to the primary brand icon for Melbourne jewellery brand Edenki. Stylistically, it’s totally different from tattoos but the linear structure perfectly communicates Eden’s often celestial inspiration.
One afternoon of researching 1970s sci-fi illustrations years ago (so good) meant that when I started working with Parallel (a speculative fiction bookstore) I was absolutely ready to create a series of colourful supporting textures.
With all this in mind, Nic and I thought- why not turn my love of curation into an experience?
But Laura, AGAIN, what does this have to do with a museum?!
To communicate this brand value of collecting (and frankly, a love of disparate things coming together) I decided to embrace one of my true loves of the Internet- Pinterest. While I’ve been an avid pinner for years, this project really took my love of curating tangents to the next level in the form of launching 'a museum'- a whole new Pinterest account as part of my rebrand.
My audience, like me, is likely a curious bunch. So why not turn my love of curation into an experience for them to explore?
Enter, a Museum for the Curious
Using imagery and verbiage associated with museums and galleries (my favourite places to brainlessly wander, tbh), I used Pinterest boards to create my ‘museum’, aptly titled Museum for the Curious.
Traditional rooms were turned on their head- The Bird Room isn’t stuffed with (only) taxidermy- it’s filled with bird-inspired art (and spoiler: there is also more then one bird logo in my folio?!). From a Bathroom-inspired board dedicated to skincare (yep, even the soaps get their moment) to a collection of Audio Tours (playlists, one of my true loves)- each board is a celebration of things I love- both created and curated by me.
Let’s talk about swag
What’s a museum without a gift shop and merch, right?
I created a heap of museum merch that I then sent out to clients as part of my rebrand celebration. Classic pieces like a brochure and ticket are accompanied by some newly branded items (think socks, keyring, merch etc) that will be used in my onboarding process moving forward.
There’s also a wink and a nod to the world of agency design- I created a series of very slick, very design-y mock-ups of my fake museum that I used to tease my launch (and encourage people to get involved).
What’s Next?
Now that the ‘museum’ is officially open (with some new galleries freshly live featuring this rebrand!) you may be wondering what happens next? I’m planning to continue curating with plans of getting my wonderful community of interesting folks involved in some collaborative boards.
Ready for a tour? Join the fun on Pinterest (you can also see my personal brand design account here) and stay curious, my friends.
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* I worked with Nic to develop my marketing strategy for my launch and beyond. If you’re needing to collaborate with someone who has GREAT ideas that are as unique as you, I’d highly recommend working with Independent Creatives.
** My fine arts thesis was about collections enabling an imagined liminal afterlife. So yes, I have always been that girl.
*** Would you believe, I'll be launching products soon? Be the first to know when we launch by signing up here.
