Designer - People's History Museum: The national museum of democracy

People’s History Museum (PHM) requires a designer to create a visual identity for the museum’s 2020 programme theme of migration and produce assets for the venue’s 10th birthday

Background

People’s History Museum (PHM) is the national museum of democracy and the home of ideas worth fighting for. In 2020 the museum will launch a year long programme of new exhibitions, events, learning sessions and creative collaborations that will explore the theme of migration.

As a museum that is leading the way with co-creation, integrating campaigning into its approach and working with international partners, the 2020 programme will be curated in partnership with the communities whose lives have been shaped by migration. The stories the museum tells will be re-examined through their eyes, creating a rich visitor experience with gallery takeovers, new exhibits, digital installations, banner displays, artistic responses and collaborations.

PHM’s approach to its 2020 programme has been informed by a series of community consultations from which the following objectives for the programme have been developed:

To work with communities to highlight and promote the diverse and multicultural history of Britain while reflecting on crosscutting factors such as colonisation, slavery, the Industrial Revolution, arms trade and climate change and their role in past and present migration movements
To work with communities to explore and highlight the experiences of recent migrants and the impact of hostile environment policies. We will use this to support grassroots action to counter these policies and alleviate their consequences
To act as a centre for thought provoking and bold conversations around issues including racism, classism, the rise of the far right, xenophobia and Brexit
To gain recognition as a Museum of Sanctuary
To offer a space for people to meet, get to know each other and exchange knowledge and skills through different creative activities and events
To utilise radical approaches to community-led programming and cultural democracy
To use outreach to engage with a more diverse audience and build a deeper,sustainable interaction

The programme will start in 2020 with PHM’s annual banner changeover. PHM will recruit a Community Programme Team made up of five people whose lives have been shaped by migration. This team will lead on a project to challenge the narratives told around migration across the main galleries and find new ways to highlight absent stories through a series of gallery interventions/takeovers. The team will co-create PHM’s public programme of events and community exhibitions from submissions received via our open call.

2020 will also mark the 10th birthday of People’s History Museum being in its home on the bank of the River Irwell in city centre Manchester; a site that combines a restored historic building and magnificent contemporary extension. It is from this location, with two permanent galleries, a state of the art conservation studio, a changing exhibition gallery, archive and study centre and extensive learning and community spaces, that the national museum of democracy invites people to discover over 200 years of ideas worth fighting for. The objectives for the birthday are:

To recognise and celebrate the impact of PHM over the last ten years
To give something back: saying thank you to all visitors and supporters
To increase visibility and to raise profile and awareness
To look to the future and think about the next ten years of PHM – what will democracy look like?

The brief

We would like to commission the production of:

A visual identity for PHM’s 2020 programme theme of migration
Marketing and publicity material for PHM’s 2020 programme theme of migration
Marketing and publicity material for PHM’s 10th birthday

Key objectives for the design brief

To raise the profile of PHM as the national museum of democracy which offers a powerful programme of exhibitions, events and learning sessions with annual themes
To give voice to the ideas the community believe are worth fighting for today
To communicate PHM’s 10th birthday message
To engage visitors with the 2020 programme theme of migration in PHM’s galleries, shop, cafe, communal areas and online

Target audiences based on PHM’s Audience Development Plan:

Geographical:

People living within 90 minutes of Manchester

Culture Segments: (see info)

Essence
Expression

Demographic:

Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME)
Families

The visual identity for the 2020 programme theme of migration will be used across the museum and marketing and publicity materials (both in colour and black & white). The work should:

Visually link itself to the theme of migration
Resonate with the objectives that have been developed (outlined above)
Reflect the process of PHM inviting co-creation with a Community Programme Team
Include development of an illustrated graphic and colour palette which can be used as a visual identity for the 2020 programme theme of migration; to be used across community display/workshop spaces, appropriate 2020 Banner Display labels, to badge existing Learning Programme session (Living History performances No Bed of Roses / Moving Stories) and associated exhibitions and public events
Include guidelines for use of the visual identity across PHM’s marketing and publicity materials (including the museum website and social media platforms)

The Community Programme Team will be involved in selecting the final design. We would like three designs routes to share with them in October 2019.

As part of the brief we will also require production of the following marketing and publicity material:

Eye catching vinyl for one side of glass balustrade outside the museum entrance / six 900mm x 900mm vinyl circles on The Left Bank cafe bar glass to communicate 2020 programme theme of migration/10th birthday
Poster templates as editable Word documents that can be printed A5, A4 & A3 in house e.g. to promote community events, exhibitions and meetings
Digital graphics (supplied as jpegs) and GIFs for Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
Ideas for PHM foyer/entrance ‘installation’ to attract attention / signpost 2020 programme happenings e.g. signwriting on glass partition wall between PHM foyer and The Left Bank cafe bar

In addition, as part of the brief, we require marketing and publicity material for the museum’s 10th birthday to include:

Birthday party e-invitation
Birthday party printed keepsake (A5 maximum size, approx 1k)
Three birthday say it with an e-card(s)
Social media headers, digital graphics and GIFs for Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
Updates to A5 2pp general museum leaflet (40k) & A1 poster (10)
Ideas for bespoke branded stock e.g. badges, stickers, postcards etc

Budget: £3,300 excluding VAT

Key project deadlines:

Three concepts and design routes for 2020 programme theme of migration: Tuesday 1 October 2019
Visual identity for 2020 programme theme of migration selected: Monday 7 October 2019
Two 10th birthday concepts and design routes: Tuesday 8 October 2019
10th birthday design selected: Tuesday 8 October 2019
Delivery of assets for 2020 programme theme of migration: October 2019 – February 2020
Delivery of 10th birthday assets: November 2019 – February 2020

To apply:

If you would like to submit an expression of interest please return a PDF with the following information to marketing@phm.org.uk by 5.00pm on Monday 2 September 2019:

Full contact details
Relevant examples from your portfolio
A statement outlining your understanding of the brief, your values and why you want to work on this project

As an equal opportunities employer, we welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons. However, to take an authentic and inclusive community approach to lead on this project, we would particularly welcome applications from artists from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities.