iii Brand Guide - San Luis Obispo Museum of Art

1010 Broad Street at Mission Plaza San Luis Obispo, California 93401 PH 805.543.8562 | fx  805.543.4518 sloma .org

BRAND GUIDE

BRAND GUIDE

WHO IS THIS GUIDE FOR?

This guide is a reference material detailing the brand strategy of the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art and is for internal use only. It is for all those who create and manage the brand experience, for example: designers, architec ts, curators, marketing, and public relations groups. Therefore this document purposely uses the technical language of brand.

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CONTENTS

BRAND STRATEGY REPORT Fundamental Insight .............................................. 3-4 THE BRAND STEERING WHEEL Overview............................................................... 5-6 BRAND MISSION & POSITION Brand Mission / Target audience......................... 7 Benefits / Reasons to believe............................... 8 BRAND DIFFERENTIATION “You are not...”/ “Instead you are...”.................... 9-10 CORE PROPOSITION Core proposition................................................... 11-12 BRAND CHARACTER “What you are...”/ “What you are not...”.............. 13-14 THE BENEFITS The Benefits.......................................................... 15-16 MESSAGES Top level messages............................................... 17-18 MESSAGES BY AUDIENCE For artists and artist groups................................ 19 For supporters and members.............................. 20 BRANDED ELEMENTS Branded elements................................................ 21-22 NAMING GUIDELINES Correct usage/ Incorrect usage............................ 25-26

The San Luis Obispo Museum of art brand guide

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BRAND GUIDE

Funda menta l insighT

People of all ages, genders, backgrounds, and interests feel high-quality, cutting edge art is increasingly found in museums that have cold, detached, intimidating, industrialized, and sometimes even corporate-like environments.

These environments albeit graced with spectacular architecture, collections, exhibits, and educational programs are putting an unnecessar y distance between people and art.

The opportunity for a deeper connection with art is lost, leaving people wishing for a more authentic, intimate relationship with art as well as with the people who share their interest in this art.

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This insight drives the brand strategy, helping make the museum brand clear, different, relevant, and energized.

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The brand steering wheel The wheel provides

A mechanism for turning insight into action as the brand is created and managed.

A common understanding of the Museum brand that enables consistent execution.

A way to quickly tell what is on/off strategy for everyone that works with the Museum brand.

The components

Brand mission Brand position

The wheel captures the brand strategy for easy design and management of the brand.

Brand differentiation Brand proposition Character Benefits of the brand Messages Branded elements 5

It defines the brand itself and where the brand comes to life, making it a key tool for identity and collateral design, selection of Museum offerings, marketing, public relations, and the physical building environment.

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The brand steering wheel: MISSION & position the brand mission

Ta rget audience

Deepening the visual contemporary art experience for all.

All who love art, create art, or are simply curious about art.

People in our target audience are educated and well traveled, seek knowledge, care deeply about their community, and tend towards high-involvement.

They are generally happy, passionate, and thoughtful in nature, not dark, moody or detached.

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DEEPENING

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THE VISUAL

Removes the distance that’s coming between art and those who view it, to deepen people’s connection to art and people that share a love or curiosity about art.

CONTEMPORARY ART EXPERIENCE FOR ALL.

Reasons to believe

Exhibits, permanent collection, classes, workshops, lectures, films, concerts, openings, events, the people who represent the Museum, and the Museum’s exterior and interior design.

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The brand steering wheel: differentiation you a re not a ...

Inste a d you a re ...

Not a quiet, static, snobby museum that’s on a pedestal.

The place for contemporary art in San Luis Obispo and on the Central Coast.

Not a museum that’s fallen into a role of becoming too big, too corporate.

A model that shows us you can have stand-out, thought-provoking art in a lively, nurturing environment. This setting cradles people so they can think freely, push boundaries and connect with one another to create a community that grows naturally around art.

Not cool, sterile contemporary, or modern.

Not a museum that has a permanent quality.

An example of how art, activities and education that rotate often and engage people adds a vibrant, living quality to a museum.

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Point of difference

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Stand-out, thought-provoking contemporary art but in a lively, nurturing setting.

You are a new kind of museum.

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The brand steering wheel: core proposition

THE MUSEUM provides a lively, nurturing setting to deepen people’s engagement with contemporary art and one another.

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The brand steering wheel: brand character

wh at you a re ...

Progressive: You

are experimental, thought-provoking, and modern. You keep current. You love new, emerging ideas and experiences and actively seek them out.

in your interactions. You make people feel safe and at ease so they can think, talk, and create freely without the fear of being judged.

Vibrant: You are full of life and color. You are warm and inviting.

You are excited, creative, enthusiastic, and expressive. You are passionate in your pursuits. You inspire.

Yo u e x p r e ss f r e e l y a n d w i t h o u t reservation. You are constantly creating.

You are comfortable with messy and unfinished. You take risks. You embrace and respond to change.

Inclusive: You are social. You welcome

people and invite them in freely. You accept people from all walks of life. You put others at ease. You like to meet, spend time with, and learn from others.

You care about your community and understand community is cultivated in many ways.

Nurturing: You make people feel at

home. You are a mentor and a teacher.

You are unhurried, focused, and present 13

Spontaneous: You are in the moment.

wh at you a re NOT...

Polished or finished Sterile, muted, cold, or sleepy Stagnant Afraid Moody Rushed or distracted Pretentious, professorial, or in uniform

The SAn LuIS ObISpO MuSeuM Of ArT brAnd guIde

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The brand steering wheel: the benefits Museum members / v isitors feel ...

Engaged Stimulated Uplifted A Sense of belonging Connected Inspired Empowered Proud Challenged Nourished Invigorated Aware Enlightened

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The brand position of providing a lively, nurturing setting in which to experience stand-out contemporary art provides people tangible benefits.

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The brand steering wheel: messages

top le v el messages Started in the 1950s, the San Luis Obispo Museum or Art is the only museum in San Luis Obispo and on the California Central Coast dedicated to visual contemporary art.

Over the past 50 years as we’ve moved from art association to art center to museum, we’ve built a strong community of artists, educators, and enthusiasts around the work of living regional California artists that continues to grow.

We strive to bring more regional and California ar t to more people through stand-out exhibits, classes, workshops, openings, films, concerts, lectures, and glances into our permanent collection that conserve the artistic legacy of the California Central Coast for future generations.

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We rotate our exhibits often, focus on education, and maintain a current line up of films, concerts, guest talks, and events to make sure we’re always engaging people with art in new ways.

We aim to continuously teach, challenge, and expand the view of what constitutes art by showing past and emerging contemporary work and fostering an open dialogue in a community built around art.

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Your new Museum home will be approximately 23,000 square feet, compared to the 5,600 square feet of the existing building.

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A new, much larger building designed by Barcelon and Jang has been approved and will be built at the current museum location.

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We will continue to grow.

This growth effectively triples the space for exhibits and education and adds a cafe, library, and sculpture terrace.

The new building also provides safe storage and temperature control for art, which will enable us to qualify for traveling exhibits that are normally only seen in major cities.

We are excited about a future that builds on our history and provides us the chance to continue to share more emerging visual art from our time in a historical context with those who reside in our community or just visit us.

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The brand steering wheel: messages by audience For artists and artists groups The museum was founded over a half century ago as a community art association.

Your active dedication to art has helped us broaden the art association to an art center and now an art museum.

Your support made it possible to share the work of local artists with residents and visitors to San Luis Obispo and the Central Coast.

You have also helped us become a strong education center, bringing classes and workshops to over a thousand adults and children in our community each year through the sharing of your time and artistic talent.

Our approved plans for the new building – your new home – provide us the unique opportunity to together bring even more local and California art to more people.

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For supporters and members

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It is through your belief, dedication, and support that we are able to bring more art to more people in our community and share the unique work of local and California artists with those who visit us.

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There will be even more of what has inspired and engaged art lovers like you in our community, especially with approved plans for the new building – your Museum home.

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We thank you for growing with us from a community art association to an art center and now an art museum.

As we move forward we will bring you more rotating exhibits, film screenings, music, and educational programming all designed to bring people together and welcome them into the unique art community we’ve created together.

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The brand steering wheel: branded elements

Name: The name is a cue that sets perceptions and expectations of what the museum will be like and offer.

Identity: Distinct visual, sonic, and other tangible expressions that set how the Museum brand is recognized, perceived, and internalized, for example the brand mark and logo, colors, typography, and other graphic language.

Product: Here product is defined as what the Museum offers, including exhibits, permanent collection, education, f ilms, concerts, and the activities around them.

Marketing and communications: The credibility and integrity of marketing and public relations inf luence opinions, perceptions, feelings, and decisions about the Museum.

Building: The exterior building and interior spaces set the environmental brand experience.

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Organization: The actions and interactions of people who work directly for or with the Museum including the board, staff and volunteers. People will look to the Museum organization for inclusion, leadership, education, and reassurance.

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The branded elements define the key points at which the brand comes to life to guide holistic management of the brand.

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It is by defining your brand strategy that allows you to utilize marketing, advertising, public relations, and social media to consistently reinforce your character.

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“Without a brand strategy all channels of communication become a hit or miss.�

- Eric Tsai

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Naming Guidelines ov erv iew

Consistenc y in naming in communications, both in print online, that originate from the Luis Obispo Museum of Art define re-enforce the Museum brand.

incorrect usage

all and San and

Names or other representations NOT to use in San Luis Obispo Museum of Art communications since it will confuse the Museum brand: San Luis Museum of Art San Luis Obispo Art Museum

correct usage

Full name: San Luis Obispo Museum of Art

SLO Art Museum

Short version of name after first use of full name: the Museum

SLOMOA

Acronym: SLOMA

SLOAM

SLO Museum of Art can also be used in social media implementations when SLOMA is not available.

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San Luis Art Museum

SLMOA

SLAM SLO Art Museum

SLOMA.ORG The San Luis Obispo Museum of art brand guide

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1010 Broad Street at Mission Plaza San Luis Obispo, California 93401 PH 805.543.8562 | fx  805.543.4518 sloma .org

BRAND GUIDE