Egypt Exploration Society Branding

Egypt Exploration Society

Branding

The Egypt Exploration Society (EES) was founded in 1882 and now exists to increase knowledge and understanding of Egypt’s heritage.

The Egypt Exploration Society has had the same visual identity since Victorian times so we were pretty thrilled when they approached us to create a more contemporary EES brand. Our biggest challenge was to develop a new logo which continued to represent the heritage of the Society while introducing a more modern look and feel.

The new logo is bold and contemporary but instantly recognisable. It enhances the strengths of the previous logo – such as the Egyptian imagery – and addresses the problems we found during our research – such as legibility. The distinct design replaces black ink with blue, reflecting authority, expertise, trust and intelligence and features an iconic Horus child sitting on top of an open lotus flower. This unmistakably Egyptian imagery appropriately symbolises rebirth and regeneration to activate a new cycle in the Society’s growth.

Audiences have responded well to the new look and it is currently being used across all EES print and digital publications including the EES e-newsletter, the Annual Report and Egyptian Archeology magazine.

Lim and his colleagues were quick to understand our requirements, and very aware of the sensitivities around replacing a logo that had been established for over a century. They produced a series of clear, eye-catching, clean and modern designs, which also captured the essence of the old logo. They were then very patient with the committee tasked with approving the final designs, and a series of requests for modification.

The nim team have since been very helpful as we have begun to implement the new logo, either producing new designs for print and online materials or advising on existing drafts. Early feedback received from our members – many of whom are quite conservative! – has been universally popular, and we are confident this will continue. Thanks Lim and co!

Dr Chris Naunton, Former EES Director

Case study

Challenge

EES approached us when they decided to refresh their brand which was essentially a Victorian Seal.

Our biggest challenge was to develop a new logo, which continued to represent the heritage of the Society while introducing a more modern look and feel.
We were aware that our design would need to be approved by sensitive internal audiences before it could be put into effect externally.

Solution

We undertook focus group meetings with internal stakeholders to gain an understanding of how much change the organisation was ready to make.
We developed a choice of options ranging from a purely typographical solution to a more illustrative approach.
The response to these gave us a clear understanding of how far we could take our designs – which turned out to be quite a long way!
The distinct design replaces black ink with blue, reflecting authority, expertise, trust and intelligence and features an iconic Horus child sitting on top of an open lotus flower.
We created a solution which enhances the strengths of the previous logo – such as the Egyptian imagery – and addresses the problems we found during our research – such as legibility.

Results

The new logo is bold and contemporary but instantly recognisable.
This unmistakably Egyptian imagery appropriately symbolises rebirth and regeneration and signals a new cycle in the Society’s growth.
Audiences have responded well to the new look and it is currently being used across all EES print and digital publications including the EES e-newsletter, the Annual Report and Egyptian Archeology magazine.

7 of 7 in branding.