The Historical Wine and Spirits Museum (a single 36-letter word in Swedish) was drawing just 10,000 visitors a year and having trouble competing with Stockholm’s numerous other cultural attractions. Then the museum acquired the last remaining pair of 18th-century naval sheds on the island of Djurgården, and a transformation began. SDL’s task was to define that brand and help draw a new, larger audience to the southern shore of Djurgården.

Based on research identifying the potential for a new, well-travelled, sophisticated audience, we developed a brand platform, positioning and personality, and a new, much shorter name. ‘Spritmuseum’ conveyed the new focus on spirits and, set in Absolut’s modified Futura font, it gave a nod to the main sponsor. In the join between the sheds, we saw a cocktail glass: this became a symbol for navigation, souvenirs and bags. And the simple design programme we developed guided the production of all the museum’s communications.