American Jazz Museum

Located in the Historic 18th & Vine Jazz District in Kansas City, MO, the American Jazz Museum showcases the sights and sounds of jazz through interactive exhibits and films, and features live music in their venues. We partnered with the museum to launch their new brand to the world, including designing and developing a dynamic new website in Webflow.

As part of our brand assessment and research, we gathered input from a wide variety of audiences around the U.S. to determine their awareness of the museum, attitudes toward jazz, and overall concepts associated with the genre. We connected a feeling of excitement and vibrancy and the specific history of the 18th & Vine neighborhood, and worked to imbue that into all of the elements of the brand to be more cohesive and show movement, community, and timelessness. The brand promise, value proposition, tagline – “Where Jazz Lives” – and supporting messaging all work together to create a compelling, engaging, and honest brand experience for anyone looking to experience all things jazz.

The AJM brand thrives in the experience and requires a high volume of communications touch points across channels to create the desired brand engagement. We crafted comprehensive brand standards to guide the launch and ongoing management of the brand, including visuals and messaging. Our team also developed a messaging architecture and flexible visual templates to make posting faster and easier, while also maintaining the impact of the brand. The website extends the American Jazz Museum brand through impactful and creative uses of their visual shapes, textures, and striking photography.