£39 million project Dynamic Earth undergoes rebrand

Scottish consultancy Lewis has rebranded £39 million visitor attraction Dynamic Earth to show visitors how “exciting” it is, says project lead designer, Steven Scott.

Dynamic Earth, set up in 1999 and based in Edinburgh, was part-funded by an £18 million grant from the Millennium Commission. It is a science centre that takes visitors “through a journey of time” using interactive 4D exhibits depicting different places and climates in the world, and includes Scotland’s only 360 degree dome film theatre.

The company, which has not undergone a full rebrand since it launched, undertook market research, which indicated that a refresh of its brand would be beneficial, Scott says. Lewis was subsequently appointed following a pitch in January this year.

The rebrand, which began rolling out last month, includes a refresh of the logo, which sees a “softer” font used and a refreshed colour palette.

“It had only had a small refresh before this since 1999,” says Scott. “We’ve now taken quite a bit of detail out of the logo to give it a softer feel – we wanted to keep it in line with competitors in Edinburgh, and make it more modern.”

The consultancy has changed the font in the logo from Helvetica to Avant Garde, to give it more strength, says Scott, and to make it “less corporate and more commercial”.

“We wanted to show that it’s great for kids, as well as a scientific thing,” Scott says. “We wanted to get across how exciting the centre is, and get back the hype that it had when it was first built.”

Alongside the rebrand, Lewis has created a 12-month marketing campaign for the brand, which will be rolling out throughout 2016. It aims to encapsulate the diversity of things to do at the centre and show that it’s “not just time travel”, says Scott, achieved by a central line of copy filled with adjectives.

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The consultancy has produced leaflet and billboard designs for the campaign, alongside a 20-second advert, and will continue to roll out marketing material for educational events at the centre this year.