Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - As the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens embarks on an expansion project for the first time in more than a century, a new brand identity is also being revealed.
CEO Mark Mortenson says the facility right now doesn't really have the capacity for the community need. "We have great success with school groups but we don't have enough space to properly service them. In addition, our admissions area and gift shop are very, very small, and we've been trying to leverage our existing historic conservatory for trying to support this demand," says Mortenson.
Mortenson says a new brand identity (see above) is being introduced. He says it brings the not-for-profit a revitalized look and feel, including a new logo, updated mission and vision statements, and a refreshed color palette. Additionally, the Botanical Gardens launched its new website to reinforce its new identity for the future.
Mortenson says he worked with 19 Ideas to come up with the identity. "What they did is they interviewed community members about how they saw us here at the Botanical Gardens. They also interviewed our members, and then the general public about the impressions. They took all that data and actually broke down our personality brand types," explains Mortenson.
He says the Botanical Gardens is actually using the brand as a Wayfinding mechanism when it opens up the new exhibits within the Living Museum, "The brand and the graphics will be featured all throughout the living museum so it will really present a holistic kind of graphic personality to to visitors coming to the gardens," adds Mortenson.
The Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens first opened in 1900. The historic conservatory was designed by Lord & Burnham and is situated within a park system conceptualized by Frederick Law Olmstead in the 1800s.
