Since 1973, the Nebraska Humanities Council (NHC) supported humanities programming in the state of Nebraska through financial grants and unique programming. Heading into their 40th anniversary, the NHC was looking to update their identity to something a little more modern and memorable.
We went to work first on the name, changing to Humanities Nebraska. Dropping the “Council” made the organization appear less formal and insular. Swapping the position of “Humanities” and “Nebraska” helped alleviate some of the confusion as to whether or not this was a government-run organization, and brought the ultimate goal of elevating knowledge and appreciation of the humanities to the forefront.
The new logo eschews the overused and governmental image of “The Sower,” a sculpture that appears at the top of the Nebraska capitol building. The new mark is a stylized “HN” with the three vertical lines representing the past, present and future connected by the strokes of the “H” and “N.” Visually, this logo represents Humanities Nebraska’s goal of creating programming that educates us about our past in order to create a better future.
We also created a flexible strapline system for the organization. While the default “Ideas In Progress” appears most often, other words such as “Education,” “Literature” and “History” can be used when appropriate for the content of specific events.
Overall, the system is flexible, distinctive and a much needed overhaul for an important cultural organization.
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