'Linking Navy and Nation' - National Museum of the Royal Navy

Image: courtesy of the National Museum of the Royal Navy, showing HMS Trincomalee, Hartlepool.

National Museum of the Royal Navy has launched a new visual identity and rebranded as Royal Navy Museums (RNM).

The service runs ships and sites in Portsmouth, Belfast, Hartlepool in County Durham and Yeovilton in Somerset. Its new visual identity launches across all digital platforms this week, with a phased physical rollout across its museums and ships over the next two years.

The museum’s new graphic flag is designed to look as though it is fluttering in the wind. The rebrand was developed in consultation with multiple stakeholders including the Royal Navy and in collaboration with creative agency Johnson Banks, with strategic support from Jo Marsh.

Central to the rebrand is its vision of “Linking Navy and Nation”, which aims to place inspiring stories and experiences front and centre to its museum experiences.

The rebranded museum names and places Royal Navy Museums sites: Royal Navy Museums: Portsmouth Royal Navy Museums: Submarines Royal Navy Museums: Explosion (Gosport, Hampshire) Royal Navy Museums: Naval Aviation (Yeovilton, Somerset) Royal Navy Museums: Hartlepool, including HMS Trincomalee (County Durham) Royal Navy Museums: HMS Caroline (Belfast, Northern Ireland) The ships and submarine: Royal Navy Museums: HMS Victory (Portsmouth, Hampshire ) Royal Navy Museums: HMS Warrior (Portsmouth, Hampshire) Royal Navy Museums: HMS M.33 (Portsmouth, Hampshire) Royal Navy Museums: HMS Alliance (Gosport, Hampshire) Royal Navy Museums: Hartlepool, including HMS Trincomalee (County Durham)

RNM has recently embarked on major capital projects including the new Royal Marines Experience, a redevelopment of its old offer, due to open this July at a total cost of £15m.

The organisation is also undergoing the £42m Big Repair to restore vice-admiral Horatio Nelson’s flagship Victory, which was key in the 1805 Battle of Trafalgar versus the combined French and Spanish fleets.

It reached a major milestone last week as three of its masts – the mizzen (rear), foremast (front) and bowsprit (the bow) – were removed safely removed and laid near the ship by a 750-tonne crane, ready for careful conservation work to begin. The conservation work is due to finish in 2033.

RNM became a national organisation in 2008, and is home to the world’s largest fleet of historic Royal Navy ships and a collection of more than 2.5 million objects.

Matthew Sheldon, chief executive of RNM, said: “We knew it was time for change. We have thousands of powerful stories to tell, and we needed a clear vision and a bold brand to tell them in ways that resonate with new and broader audiences.

"RNM gives us a stronger, simpler way to bring our museums and ships together and to show how the story of the navy is woven into the story of Britain itself.”

Michael Johnson, from creative agency Johnson Banks, said: “From day one, we saw a vast muddle of competing names and symbols, and no-one could say their old name correctly.

"So, we shortened it to three words then searched for a symbol that could unite the group. A flag that echoes their history – and could fly confidently across each site – seemed to be the perfect solution.”