After more than 20 years of using their considerable skill set to craft exhibits and immersive experiences for the stage and the amusement industry, AST Exhibits was ready to tell their story.

My website received a contact form submission from a company in Florida called Advanced Staging Technologies. They were specifically interested in hiring an educated female designer to help them with their next big project.

Why so specific? Because they are also detail-oriented, thoughtful creatives and they had done their homework: They knew the profile of their ideal client, and they wanted to partner with a designer who had some things in common with their target demographic.

The astrolabe has a history of active use that spans more than 2000 years across nearly every continent.

It was time to narrow their focus.

Advanced Staging Technologies had been in business for two decades, designing and building sets for touring productions, themed environments for amusement parks or trade shows and exhibits for museums. They had decided to focus more exclusively on the museum sector because of the appreciation that market has for quality craftsmanship.

In our first meeting, they explained that what they really do is to help tell stories, and that they needed to update their brand to reflect that. Their existing logo and website had been created more as an afterthought some 20 years ago than as a meaningful representation of the company.

Basically, they had spent the last two decades telling stories, but in the process, they had neglected to tell their own, so we set about the business of doing just that.

The main demographic of the business was (mostly) female historians with post graduate degrees in library sciences, history and literature with 20 or more years of experience in museum work. These women were well-educated and well-read, with a deep knowledge of history, geography, and historical contexts.

They decided to change the name of the company to AST Exhibits, and while they were making that decision, I was researching symbols that could speak to both the breadth and depth of their skill set and well as the extensive historical knowledge of their clientele.

Project Elements

Do you need a brand, or possibly a brand refresh?

I'd love to chat about your project needs. Want to see more work like this? Let me tell you the story of AST Exhibits, a team of gifted artisans and storytellers who entrusted me to help them tell their own story.