NRM DROPS ‘NATIONAL’ FROM LOGO IN £100K RE-BRAND
The word ‘national’ has been dropped from the National Railway Museum’s logo, as part of a £100,000 re-brand. The York museum unveiled its new corporate identity as ‘Railway Museum’ on April 26 at an exhibition of the 1935-built sectioned replica of Rocket, ‘A3’ Flying Scotsman and Britain’s first hyperloop prototype pod. Describing its new logo, the NRM said on its Facebook page: “Our new logo reflects our local, regional, national and international ambitions; reflects our world-class family of museums, and has 17% more railway in it. We particularly love the sense of movement in the typeface – it reminds us of a train speeding past!” An NRM spokesman said: “The re-branding of this museum, which is part of a wider Science Museum Group project, will cost around £100,000 when complete. That represents great value for money and we see it as just one of many important investments across the museum.” When asked why the museum had decided to drop the word ‘national’ from its logo, NRM Director Judith McNichol told Steam Railway: “We know that there are some visitors who are a little bit put off by the word ‘national’, so the re-brand is about broadening our appeal.” However, despite the change in the museum’s brand identity, the NRM insists it is still called, and will continue to be known as, the National Railway Museum. The NRM spokesman said: “Our name hasn’t changed. We are still the National Railway Museum and we will continue to be a national museum. “The logo is a logo – it is not our full name. We hope the new visual identity will appeal to a broad audience – including people who haven’t been to the museum before. “Our national status is important and that won’t change – we know how much it means to many people – particularly here in York. That’s why it will literally be the name above the door. “The visual identity clearly shares features with the wider Science Museum Group brand – in evidence at the Science Museum, the National Science and Media Museum and Locomotion.” The NRM has also committed
OUR NATIONAL STATUS IS IMPORTANT AND THAT WON’T CHANGE NRM SPOKESMAN
to the word ‘Science’ not featuring in its name in future – as has happened with other SMG museums: “[Science] does feature in several other museums in the group, but we will remain the National Railway Museum. “This name has strong associations and will enable us to continue to tell the stories of engineering on the railways without changing the public expectation of a visit to the museum.”