Brand Strategy / Brand Identity / Graphic Design
The John F. Kennedy Hyannis Museum preserves and promotes the legacy of President Kennedy, his family, and their deep connection to Cape Cod. The Museum’s mission is to inspire next-generation leadership, public service, citizen engagement, and respectful, nonpartisan dialogue and learning.
The museum is undertaking its largest transformation since its founding to become a hybrid museum-civic center and to connect with the next generation.
To prepare for this new chapter, we engaged Kennedy family members, staff, and locals to create a new brand identity system to herald the museum’s transformation.
One of the most unique aspects of the museum is that its focus is equal parts President Kennedy and the Cape.
Cape Cod was not only the location of the Summer White House, but an influential force on the core values and principles of President Kennedy.
“I always go to Hyannis Port to be revived,
to know again the power of the sea.”
President John F. Kennedy
The new brand identity system endeavors to express both the presidency and the Cape in equal parts.
The logomark serves as the foundation for the new system. It incorporates a burgee, emphasizing JFK’s love of sailing, and is emblazoned with an abstract “K” to represent the longstanding family legacy. Bold lettering anchors the mark and draws from historic campaign typography. The colors draw on the presidency, but are softened to sync with the Cape’s informality.
The bold, flexible brand system can emphasize the formality of the presidency, the character of the Cape to inspire or a youthful and optimistic energy—bringing JFK’s legacy to the next generation.
While researching the museum’s collection, we discovered that JFK frequently doodled on notepads and in the margins of his notes—and that the overwhelming majority of his sketches were of boats and the ocean.
We transformed one of those sketches into a graphic element—representing another connection between the Cape and JFK.
