Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center

Taking a Stand for Humanity

During the quiet phase of a significant capital campaign, the Museum engaged Grillo Group to develop a case statement package to support development efforts with their most important prospects.

As our collaboration progressed, we also worked to refresh brand positioning and identity with the goal of increased awareness of the Museum’s larger purpose: To use the lessons of the Holocaust to empower and encourage visitors to stand up for what’s right—in their daily lives and for human rights globally—against hatred, discrimination, and genocide still very much alive in the world today.

Our approach for both branding and campaign materials needed to address the emotional pitch and multiple sensitivities of Museum content, the feelings, expectations, and perceptions of local Holocaust Survivors, the Museum board of directors and trustees, partners, current and prospective donors, students and their families, and the general public.

The Grillo Group carefully segmented audience groups and identified a positioning that communicates the heart and sole purpose of the Museum with impact and clarity. The tagline and messaging tailored to each key audience emerged directly from our positioning work, along with the design direction for the identity refresh, campaign case statement package and related support communications, advertising, and a myriad of other communications.

Before we began our visual branding work, the Museum logo made visual reference to the roofline of Stanley Tigerman’s much loved and respected Museum architecture. The point and curve of the roofline (shown below) is a metaphor for the Survivor’s journey from darkness into light as is the Museum visitor's physical journey through the story the exhibits tell. Our refreshed branding solution retains the point/curve roofline with a minor adjustment to the shape—making clear the additional symbolism of a bird taking flight for freedom.

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Client Success