Behind every Medal of Honor is a story of courage, integrity, bravery, and sacrifice — and these stories deserve to be told in a way that highlights the values we, as Americans, hold most dear.
The Congressional Medal of Honor is our nation’s highest military decoration, awarded to those who exhibit bravery in combat at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty. We were contacted to help tell the story of the National Medal of Honor Museum by developing its visual identity and positioning the museum as a distinct entity apart from other Medal of Honor organizations, while honoring the men and women who were Medal of Honor recipients.
The audience—donors to the fundraising campaign to build the museum and, later, the museum attendees—needed to feel connected to the Medal of Honor recipients, and inspired by what the Medal stands for. We created a logo and mark that serve as visual metaphors for the uniqueness of the Medal of Honor, consisting of a custom-drawn, pentagon-shaped ribbon that holds the inverted five-point antique gold star. The logo’s type family was narrowed down from rounds of type specimens all designed by American type designers. From there we selected the Museum’s brand type for use in corporate communications, a modern grotesque sans serif for heavy typesetting capabilities. Together, the elegant logo and visual identity helped elevate the overall design.
We then developed extensive brand guidelines with core values and messaging for how to communicate with audiences, and a print and digital paper system.
