This historic dockyard’s branding rewrites the rulebook on heritage design

Portsmouth Historic Dockyard boasts an impressive collection of historical navel artefacts, but engaging a new generation with maritime history is no mean feat. Rewriting the rules of heritage branding, Portsmouth Dockyard has launched a new campaign bursting with a re-energised appeal to entice visitors young and old to its leading attractions, from The Mary Rose to HMS Victory.

While there's no formula for creating impactful branding, Portsmouth Dockyard's new identity is a prime example of how simple visuals paired with playful copy can inject a dose of personality to build a punchy brand. With a bold colour palette and strong typography, Portsmouth Dockyard's new campaign expertly blends heritage with contemporary flair.

The initial design took inspiration from the Dockyard's 6 main attractions – HMS Warrior, HMS Victory, The Mary Rose, HMS Alliance, The National Museum of the Royal Navy and Dive the Mary Rose 4D. Breaking the boundaries of traditional heritage branding, design studio SomeOne took the word 'ship' and gave it a brand new meaning, transforming it into a series of playful new slogans.

"While the battle of Trafalgar may have occurred 220 years ago, and the Mary Rose was commissioned in 1510 – the stories of what happened onboard are as visceral and compelling as ever, says Simon Manchipp, founding partner at SomeOne. "We saw first-time visitors’ jaws drop – and heard what they said. So we used their language to form a provocative and contemporary new campaign."

"Once the initial impact of the unconventional headline lands, people have been swift to praise the obvious levels of detail. This was important – so we could start to reflect the high-quality visits people experience," adds Rich Rhodes, SomeOne's executive creative director.

A unique vibrant colour palette for each ship paired with bold typographical design, gives the new campaign a thoroughly modern feel without losing sight of the dockyard's history. Partnering with design and motion studio Rockabye, the creative team introduced animated visuals into the headlines to create an immersive campaign that packs a punch through visual intrigue and memorability.

"Beyond the immediate visual impact of the ships at Portsmouth Historic Dockyards, we discovered a trove of compelling stories beneath the surface," says Melvyn Johnson, senior designer at SomeOne."These provided the creative catalyst to create a campaign as bold as the ships themselves. From the visceral impact of battle to world class technology – now was not the time to mince words in headlines," he adds.

Appearing across the UK via print, press and pixel, Portsmouth Historic Dockyard's new campaign is an artful blend of history and modern playfulness, subverting the conventions of heritage branding. For more design inspiration from SomeOne take a look at the studio's InnTravel rebrand or check out their stunning visual indetity for Canada Water Dockside.