Edgar Allan Poe Museum
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Challenge
Help a 100+ year-old institution connect to audiences by telling their story in a unique, compelling way.
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Solution
A brand strategy that could guide their communication across all mediums, both internally and externally.
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Results
Uniting the museum’s departments, from publicity to curatorial, around a clear vision that inspired and engaged visitors and donors alike.
Imagination made real. At nearly 100 years old, the Edgar Allan Poe Museum has a history as rich and multi-faceted as the author who inspired it. The museum treasures its past but wanted to articulate its core values to a modern audience. The brand strategy we created defined these values, positioning the museum as a place that engages a diverse audience through the one thing we all share: imagination.
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Celebrating the Complexities
Poe is complicated. He was a journalist, a critic, a poet, a mystery author, and (of course) the master of the macabre. The brand strategy we created embraced these complexities by focusing on their source: Poe’s imagination. Our brand strategy, “Imagination Realized,” celebrates the museum’s ability to usher visitors into Poe’s world — to make him and his imagination real through the museum's collection, physical space, and community events.
How Writers Make BrandsElyse Kamibayashi, Former Senior Brand Strategist
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Let’s Not All Talk at Once
The Poe Museum has a passion for storytelling. However, between various departments and content platforms, their communication lacked consistency. As part of our brand strategy, we defined one compelling voice that could be used across all the departments, from the scholarly curatorial department to the youthful educational program.
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Black Isn’t Back
Much of Poe’s legacy is built on misconception or one-sided interpretations. The museum wanted to invite visitors to experience the real Poe — not just the macabre caricature seen in popular culture. When creating our design, we used soft, vibrant colors and typography. We paired this with subtle illustrations to generate curiosity around Poe’s life.
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Follow the Signs
We wanted to prove that “imagination realized” wasn’t just a promise that lived on social media posts and event flyers — that the museum could deliver on that promise as soon as visitors stepped inside the building. We designed and wrote exhibit signage that provided surprising, intriguing content pieces that brought Poe’s world to life for imaginative guests.
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Summary
The brand strategy we created for the Poe Museum allowed them to communicate who they were in an authentic, compelling way. Offering a space where people could indulge their imagination, the museum became a home for creativity both globally and locally.
