Branding, Logo Redesign, Annual Report
Orcas Island Historical Museums
The Orcas Island Historical Museum showcases the heritage of Orcas Island and the San Juan Islands through artifacts, family histories, oral traditions, and six historic homestead cabins featuring exhibits on island life, Native culture, local industry, and community development.
Stakeholders
Director
CTO
Tools
Illustrator
Photoshop
InDesign
Figma
Timeline
Days
Intro
Capturing history and present day
Orcas Island Museums needed a rebrand that included a logo refresh and website redesign. The current logo was visually dated, overly complex, difficult to scale, and lacks a cohesive visual system—making it a strong candidate for a modern, simplified, and versatile redesign.
Challenge
Develop a logo that feels contemporary yet historically grounded, reflecting the museum’s role as a steward of regional heritage. The project also encompassed a website redesign and annual report template design that applied the new logo and branding.
Competitive Analysis
Understanding the space
After reviewing the competitive analysis, I decided to keep the literal imagery and photographic elements of the original logo. After all, Orcas Island and the historic cabins are the essence of the organization.
Solution
Improve Clarity and Readability
Established a clear typographic hierarchy and ensure the logo remains legible at all sizes and across all formats—from signage to digital icons.
Increase Versatility
Designed a logo that works in multiple configurations (horizontal, vertical, icon-only), and performs well in color, grayscale, and one-color applications.
Simplify for Scalability
Replaced the complex, illustrated composition with a cleaner, simplified design that reproduces reliably in small sizes and tactile formats (embroidery, stamps, merchandise).
Strengthened Brand Recognition
Created a distinctive, memorable symbol that can stand alone while still representing the museum’s mission, location, and historical significance.
Build a Usable, Flexible Identity System
Ensured the redesign can support a full visual system, including signage, print collateral, educational programs, membership materials, and digital touchpoints.
The original identity struggled with typographic hierarchy and legibility, particularly at smaller scales where the complex illustration lost its impact. Limited by a single horizontal layout, the brand lacked the versatility required for a modern design system—leaving the client without essential assets like a functional favicon or responsive marks.
The redesigned identity prioritizes scalability through a refined, monochromatic line-art illustration. By stripping away extraneous text and textures, we transformed the cluttered original into a bold icon with a clear typographic hierarchy. This responsive system ensures the museum’s heritage remains legible across all platforms, from large-scale signage to digital favicons.
