The Breman rebrands itself a multi-faceted center with a ‘Dynamic B’

One of Atlanta’s most important cultural institutions – The Breman – is getting a new look.

Back in 1996, the William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum opened in Midtown Atlanta’s Selig Center, which includes the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta.

For the past two-plus years, the Breman has been delving into its purpose and unique role in Atlanta. It worked with Matchstic, an Atlanta brand identity house, to figure out how best to represent itself today and in the future.

“A rebrand is much bigger than a slogan and type face,” said Leslie Gordon, executive director of the Breman since 2019. “The Breman has long enjoyed respect as an Atlanta institution, and now we will put these new tools to work to become a higher profile and more essential connection in the city we serve.” 

For starters, instead of being known as the Breman Museum, it will simply be referred to as the Breman.

Matchstic — working with Breman’s trustees and staff — also produced a positioning statement to best describe its purpose: “The Breman is where story keepers and story seekers share the wonder of the Jewish experience.”

An example of how the institution evolved from being just a museum was in 2014 when it launched the Molly Blank Concert Series.

On April 12, the Breman held a celebration at its location on Spring Street in Midtown to unveil its new identity.

Adam Koplan, the Breman’s past board chair, said the institution was tired of being “Atlanta’s best-kept secret.” One of the first steps was to bring on Gordon, who had served as director of the Rialto Center for the Arts at Georgia State University since 2003.

Then the board began to explore how the Breman fit into the evolving nature of museums.

Koplan said the board realized that the Breman had three distinct purposes — a place that told stories of the Holocaust, its archives that told stories of Jews in the South, and a cultural center that held concerts, programs, displays and exhibitions. The word museum was too narrow for the roles the Breman played in the community.

Matchstic proposed changing the organization’s logo from a Star of David to creating the “Dynamic B,” playing off the first letter of the Breman.

The Dynamic B can be altered to fit whatever messaging is being presented — from photos or words or messages. Matchstic also helped come up with catchy phrases: “Where y’all gets its chutzpah” and “Where you can oooh, aaah and oy vey.”

The Breman said in a release that the “Dynamic B will have a starring role in applications including banners, brochures, signs, social media, wayfinding, business cards, stationery, wristbands, tickets, posters, enamel pins, tote bags and T-shirts.”