Shedd Aquarium branding and exhibitions

I spent a decade of my career as a designer at Shedd Aquarium in Chicago where I had the amazing opportunity to design for the 2 million guests who pass through its doors annually.

During this time I honed my skills across an enormous variety of creative work including branding, advertising, exhibitions, events, video, and web design.

The following represents a very small sampling of this work.

Branding & experience design

The goal

Special exhibitions at Shedd have a distinct goal: create buzz around something new, and drive attendance.

My role

As the lead graphic designer my role was to collaborate with a multidisciplinary team of exhibition designers, fabrication specialists, and content developers to conceive a compelling concept and ensure that each and every visual detail was executed with museum-quality precision.

The soft flowing lines, seamless visuals, lighting and soundscape enhance the central “flow” concept, drawing guests into jellies’ world.

Results

Jellies opened to the highest guest ratings of a special exhibits ever at Shedd. An attendance increase of ~200k was celebrated over a two-year period. Jellies remained open two years beyond its intended lifespan and became one of Shedd’s most photographed special exhibits.

Jellies Exhibition

An immersive experience featuring animals with no bones, blood or brains.

Creative team

Martin Davis, Kris Nesbitt, Kara Kotwas, Bryan Schuetze, Tynnetta Qaiyim

Shedd Aquarium Branding

The problem

How do you convey the essence of a beloved world-class organization and overcome legacy perceptions of it being dark, old and unchanging? How do you unify a variety of creative output (print, web, exhibitions) under a singular visual expression that conveys the ethos of Shedd as vibrant, inspiring and alive?

My role

I collaborated with our marketing strategy team to conduct a series of brand essence workshops with staff and guests to define our core personality traits. I wrote and designed guideline manuals that contain brand essence and visual expression guidelines.

Results

The branding system provided both consistency and flexibility across an enormous range of print, exhibition, and digital applications for 15 years.