Following a competitive pitch in January 2024, a new visual identity has been created by Wonderhood Design, to support the V&A in attracting and retaining diverse talent.

The pandemic and post-pandemic period has changed working life for many and created an extremely challenging employment market, especially in the creative arts sector. The V&A is a family of museums dedicated to the power of creativity, with an incredibly inclusive and collaborative culture, but ‘traditional’ and ‘outdated’ perceptions can hold diverse talent back from applying for roles and volunteering opportunities.

After holding focus groups with current V&A employees and volunteers, ‘being a part of something more purposeful’ was a consistent theme that people mentioned when asked why they apply – and why they stay.

The need to articulate the V&A’s unique culture and values between the museum and its people has never been more important. Building on the V&A’s existing Employee Value Proposition ‘Together, we make it V&A’ Wonderhood Design looked to bring the proposition to life by putting the staff at heart of the identity and creating a simple, bold graphic device that would link such a diverse range of roles together.

A graphic ribbon runs over, behind and through imagery of employees and volunteers, and weaves in and out of different spaces and locations, but all connected by the line ‘Together, we make it V&A’.

A key part of the identity toolkit was a bespoke animation generator that enables the V&A team to create their own custom animations in almost limitless variations and creating more longevity and ownership of the identity. The visual identity will roll out across the V&A’s print and digital recruitment, website, event dressing, social media and staff collateral.

The visual identity was created by Wonderhood Design and shot by photographer Jessica Eliza Ross and features employees and volunteers at the V&A South Kensington and V&A East across two days, capturing a candid day in the life of the museum and its staff and a look behind the scenes of what it’s like to work at this unique organisation.