Bristol Dockyards: Can branding ever be too bold?

Bristol is renowned for stepping outside boundaries, whether that’s through murals on walls, colourful houses or even its vibrant music scene – all things (among many others) that I love about living here. As well as that overflow of creativity, Bristol also holds a lot of history, both good and bad, which is something else this city doesn’t shy away from.

This summer, one of Bristol’s most recognisable landmarks, the SS Great Britain, announced its rebrand to Bristol Dockyards, brought to life by branding agency How&How. It’s the kind of local design project that’s hard not to have an opinion on. Their total refresh gives the museum a much clearer sense of identity, in turn creating a stronger sense of place and purpose, which arguably felt a little lacking before.

I would personally suggest toning down the saturation of certain colours and taking a more minimalist approach when it comes to external and large-scale graphics. In doing so, I think it would allow other graphical elements to flourish in the smaller details instead, like brochures, wayfinding and the website, while allowing the environment to remain the true hero, with the SS Great Britain ultimately speaking for itself. It’s a good reminder that in branded environments, the strongest identities aren’t always the loudest ones. Sometimes the branding’s job is to help people experience a place, not compete with it.