In-house team Est. 1965
The Brand Team
The Brand Team works with senior management to determine organizational brand strategy; develops, codifies, and manages the visual brand system; creates or reviews Shedd-branded materials and onsite visual experiences; and develops all public facing collateral and advertising, including out of home, print, and digital.
The Brand team is part of Design & Exhibits, which also includes Exhibit Services (Fabrication, Horticulture and Show Operations), the Experience Master Plan team (dedicated to upcoming design, construction, and new experiences in the building) and the Media Team (Photography, Licensing, Video, and Media Design).
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Team Members (There are 28 people in Design & Exhibits and 8 designers on the Brand Team)
(AS OF PUB. DATE: Jan/30/2023)
On working in-house…
Benefits
Shedd is unique in that the creative teams (graphic designers, exhibit developers, fabricators, photographers, videographers, animators, show teams, and horticulturists) work together in one department, which is Design & Exhibits. This makes working across a wide variety of media quick, efficient, and fun. Sarah Hezel, the VP of D&E, reports to the CMEO, who reports to the CEO. This means that Design & Exhibits has direct communication with — and support from — upper management and the C-Suite, which makes it easier to get clear direction on institutional initiatives and goals, and to receive quick and concise approvals. As an internal team, the Brand team can focus on and nurture a single brand, and watch it grow over time, which is an emotionally and intellectually satisfying experience. Every day, we collaborate with other internal teams and partners to synch project objectives, budgets, and calendars, look for efficiencies between initiatives, and optimize outcomes based on a shared understanding of mission and purpose. As an internal team, we also have a unique perspective on our brand’s constantly evolving needs. It’s a fast-paced ecosystem and outside agencies sometimes struggle to keep up with our internal dynamics. As an historic and beloved public destination, we don’t benchmark success by the number of annual projects produced, but instead use a mixture of metrics such as visitor attendance, guest feedback, audience research and even Yelp reviews to gauge visitor engagement. We also have a unique perspective on our brand’s constantly evolving needs. It’s a fast-paced ecosystem and outside agencies sometimes struggle to keep up with our internal dynamics.
Challenges
Exemplary animal care is Shedd’s top priority. If there’s a budgetary conflict, metaphorically speaking, fish food will trump a perfect foil-stamp. Conservation is another organizational lynch pin. Our team may opt out of using an exciting material that turns out not to be environmentally friendly or will chose a paper primarily because of its recycled content. This also means that we may have to pass up a partnership, if they do not share our environmental values. And that’s ok — being part of an organization that works on behalf of aquatic animals on location and in the wild helps keep us mindful of making responsible choices. We work with eleven other internal teams who, though all part of one organization, service very different audiences. With over five hundred annual projects, this means that our brand must be able to flex between everything from fifth grade, educational “graphic novels” to elaborate invitations for high-end events to exhibit spaces and tv commercials. Doing it all really means doing it all and sometimes that’s a lot. As an organization that is 100% consumer focused and protective of our brand, the team is constantly playing catch up to keep up with demand. Like many other in-house teams, this can feel overwhelming at times and lead to burn out. We cope with this by being supportive of all team members and maintaining a culture of genuine civility and respect.
On working with…
Others
We like working with outside designers because they bring fresh new perspectives and insights to our brand. However, as a not for profit, our budgets are set and approved the previous year, so our opportunities to hire on additional help can be limited. However, we enjoy regularly collaborating with our retail and culinary partner company’s design teams and do work with outside agencies on large scale endeavors, such as the 127 ft. tall glass mobile we installed in the atrium of the Water Tower Mall. The Experience Master Plan team is currently collaborating with outside developers — as well as with The Brand Team — on a major redevelopment of the building and overall Shedd experience, currently scheduled to fully launch in 2027.
Guidelines
Brand guidelines are essential for us. In 2017, several internal teams collaborated with the CMEO to develop a set of comprehensive brand guidelines that include the brand design requirements, voice, and eight tenants that define the organization’s philosophy. The Brand team then developed a Brand Assets page on Shedd’s intranet so all employees can access branded templates, a photo library, Zoom backgrounds and the brand book (a surprisingly popular read!). The Brand team creates or reviews Shedd-branded projects, including work by internal and external partners and vendors, to ensure they all stay in brand. We are working on a significant visual brand refresh. It is currently in use on a few select projects and will have a full launch for all projects in 2024. As a conservation organization we take a conservative approach to rebranding, uniforms, and collateral — it’s ok if we look a little like penguins during molting season for a while if that means we are consuming resources more responsibly.
Because our team designs everything from environmental graphics to apps to consumer ad campaigns, the brand system must be clean, simple, and flexible. Aquatic animals are at the center of everything we do, so the brand must compliment and not compete with them.
This “graphic novel” project was created with our Learning team to engage urban fifth graders on field trips. We later discovered that this was the first book some of them had ever received. Teachers reported that they were highly treasured, and that they never found one left behind on a bus. At bottom: We also make sure that onsite campers are easily spotted in their branded t-shirts.
The Brand designers collaborate closely with the Exhibit team to develop the overall look and feel of environmental spaces, both onsite and off. Exhibit graphics often use the brand system as a base, then add additional fonts, colors, and bespoke elements to showcase unique themes.
Like the exhibit graphics, event designs are developed with the Development team to maintain the spirit of the brand but are individualized to suit the occasion.
In 2009 the Brand Team brought the annual advertising campaigns in-house. The Brand team has been co-producing them with the Marketing team — from concept to completion and market placement — ever since.
The refreshed brand is being selectively applied in 2023 and will go Shedd-wide in 2024.
The theme of the 2022 advertising campaign is “The Answer Lives at Shedd” and plays off the questions we hear visitors to the aquarium ask one another on a daily basis.
The Brand and Media teams collaborate closely with the Marketing team to produce a wide variety of motion graphics for each campaign. Shown here are the 2022 TV commercial and city information panels.
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