Not another logo! Designing corporate identity systems that drive change within institutional culture: a case study in participatory design

The most prominent expression of an organisational restructure and change in corporate management is frequently a new Visual Identity System (VIS), (Milewar, Hussey, Srivoravilai 2005). This paper uses a case study approach to question and evaluate the role in the design process in ensuring the effectiveness of a VIS in driving and expressing change. It takes as its focus the development and implementation of a new VIS for Museum Victoria, the largest museum organisation in Australia. Developed within an organisational climate of managerial and institutional change, the development of this VIS is innovative on two counts. Firstly for raising awareness and appreciation of the potential offered by thinking about design not simply as a provider of graphic elements but as a provider of strategic communication systems. Secondly its use of a participatory process that brought museum staff from all levels into the design studio to be not only involved in the design process but also encounter at first hand the nature of design practice and thinking. The paper demonstrates how this process ensured the successful implementation of the new VIS and with this, a fundamental change within the Museum's organisational culture together with a shift in attitude towards the potential usefulness of design.