Museums should be cool. The very idea will make museum directors and experts miss more than a couple of heartbeats. Especially in India, the idea of a museum conjures up visitation to a dead and buried past. No one goes to museums anymore. Well, not all museums are like that, you may say, recalling your own visit to a private or active museum. But even these cater to a small circle, bent on pandering to the egos of some special interest group.
A lost fad
Before we even think about how to change the perspective, let’s talk about the collections in a typical Indian museum. Especially in India, museums are storehouses of precious artefacts that are meant to hold the key to our past. Swords hang on the walls next to faded portraits of bygone warriors. Coin collections sit inside hermetic cases. And so on. The curators of these collections hang on to the need to preserve these antiquities. Of course, it is essential to share the body of historical evidence and knowledge of our past heritage with people. However, this is done in the most tedious and insipid way so hardly anyone is interested in these objects and their stories. Consequently, museums are low on the list of ‘things to do in the city’.
The stories of today and tomorrow, not yesterday
Now, let’s flip the coin to look at what people are up to. All you have to do is ask Google what’s trending these days, and what do you think that throws up? YouTube, Twitter and Facebook. That’s not what I’m looking for, you may say. Special interest groups typically seek out what they want and go ahead and experience it. As most museum experts, you know only one-way, the top-down way: I am the expert and I know how. But, what if you turn it around? Make people interested in what you have. In other words, create context.
But how? That is the big question.
Remember, museums are houses of culture, and while our roots are in the past, the manifestations of culture are in the present. If museum heads would step back and let a bunch of younger storytellers in, they can turn around how to tell the stories of your collection in context to their world. You will see how things turn around dramatically.
Rather than what you think you should do, do what is the need of the hour — share with an open approach: let the works in your collection become a part of a new world, flowing out as stories that people relate to, connect with, learn from, nurture and become a part of. Shaping themselves as they shape the future. You owe the younger generation this.
Making museums come alive
All this brings us to the topic of Branding — an area that tends to be understood as logo and leaflet design, and social media messaging. Branding goes way beyond these peripheral services.
A branding exercise begins with understanding the importance of what you have and then figuring out how to position your special character in the arena. You must reach the minds and impact the lives of your audience so that your offerings can become a part of who they are. This is called positioning.
In articulating the positioning, defining your museum’s true purpose is of core essence. If you get this right, you will give wings to the collections, and they will take off in ways you cannot fathom - far, wide and deep.
The turning point in thinking is carving your strategy with a people-first approach: this is the heart and soul of branding and is crucial in the setting up of any institution, business or organisation. Everything flows from there like water from its source to the sea — naturally, organically and in many forms, as required.
To know more, or about how to brand your museum write to: Attn: Anthony Lopez nb@lopezdesign.com
About Lopez Design
With an industry experience of more than 20+ years, we have created branding and communication solutions for a wide range of clientele from large and complex global organisations to startups. Our focus in all our projects is to bring out the core purpose of the brand making it one of its kind providing clear and distinct differentiators to stand out from the competition. We use market study, research and collaboration to develop insightful strategies that create value and transform brands.
Lopez Design is a full-service multidisciplinary design studio with diverse offerings in three core areas.
Strategy + Design + Activation
Written by Anthony Lopez
Illustrations by Nishtha Sharma
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