To celebrate America’s 250th birthday of the Declaration of Independence, the National Archives and the National Archives Foundation created the “Freedom Plane National Tour.” A specially outfitted Boeing 737 flew some of the nation’s most valued documents around the country for display exhibitions in eight cities. Figure originated the branding and a launch campaign across multiple platforms.
To celebrate America’s 250th birthday of the Declaration of Independence, the National Archives and the National Archives Foundation created the “Freedom Plane National Tour.” A specially outfitted Boeing 737 flew some of the nation’s most valued documents around the country for display exhibitions in eight cities. Figure originated the branding and a launch campaign across multiple platforms.
Creative
Celebrating America’s 250th anniversary by bringing the nation’s founding documents to eight major cities was a monumental logistical and creative task. We navigated the complexities of honoring significant archival records—like the 1823 Stone Engraving of the Declaration of Independence—while coordinating with high-level stakeholders, including the National Archives and corporate partners. In response, we launched a unified campaign rooted in historical reverence and modern accessibility, scaling a bold, adaptable design system from localized digital marketing templates all the way up to a staggering Boeing aircraft livery.
Services
Brand Creation
Creative Direction
Copywriting
Graphic Design
Video Production
Creative
Celebrating America’s 250th anniversary by bringing the nation’s founding documents to eight major cities was a monumental logistical and creative task. We navigated the complexities of honoring significant archival records—like the 1823 Stone Engraving of the Declaration of Independence—while coordinating with high-level stakeholders, including the National Archives and corporate partners. In response, we launched a unified campaign rooted in historical reverence and modern accessibility, scaling a bold, adaptable design system from localized digital marketing templates all the way up to a staggering Boeing aircraft livery.
Services
Brand Creation
Creative Direction
Copywriting
Graphic Design
Video Production
Messaging
NAME
Freedom Plane National Tour: Documents That Forged a Nation
ONE LINE DESCRIPTION
The “Freedom Plane National Tour: Documents That Forged a Nation” is a a National Archives traveling exhibition bringing nine original Founding-era documents to eight U.S. cities in commemoration of America’s 250th anniversary.
TAGLINE
Freedom Takes Flight
DESCRIPTION
The “Freedom Plane National Tour: Documents That Forged a Nation” is a a National Archives traveling exhibition bringing nine original Founding-era documents to eight U.S. cities in commemoration of America’s 250th anniversary in 2026. Inspired by the Bicentennial Freedom Train, the Freedom Plane National Tour will make documents fundamental to America’s founding accessible to Americans across the country. For the first time ever, these documents will travel aboard a commemorative Boeing 737 in a custom “Freedom Plane” livery, bringing these pieces of history to communities nationwide.
Messaging
NAME
Freedom Plane National Tour: Documents That Forged a Nation
ONE LINE DESCRIPTION
The “Freedom Plane National Tour: Documents That Forged a Nation” is a a National Archives traveling exhibition bringing nine original Founding-era documents to eight U.S. cities in commemoration of America’s 250th anniversary.
TAGLINE
Freedom Takes Flight
DESCRIPTION
The “Freedom Plane National Tour: Documents That Forged a Nation” is a a National Archives traveling exhibition bringing nine original Founding-era documents to eight U.S. cities in commemoration of America’s 250th anniversary in 2026. Inspired by the Bicentennial Freedom Train, the Freedom Plane National Tour will make documents fundamental to America’s founding accessible to Americans across the country. For the first time ever, these documents will travel aboard a commemorative Boeing 737 in a custom “Freedom Plane” livery, bringing these pieces of history to communities nationwide.
Identity
Inspired by the historic Bicentennial Freedom Train, we created an identity capturing the semiquincentennial’s monumental scale. We began with a mnemonic logo reimagining the American flag, replacing its stars with thirteen airplanes to encapsulate the tour’s unique transit and the original colonies. It is bold, patriotic, and commanding, instilling national pride while remaining approachable for diverse audiences. Anchored by a deep, authoritative navy blue, our colorway features confident dark red and crisp white accents. These evoke a modernized Americana that translates seamlessly onto a massive Boeing aircraft livery. Finally, the Trust 2A typeface family gave us a commanding typographic identity, monumental headline impact, and high legibility across all exhibition graphics.
Brand Standards
This program had a national scope with a large amount of participating corporate sponsors, government agencies, hosting venues, media outlets, and more. In order to keep a consistent public brand presence across that landscape, we built a set of brand standards and a usage guide to ensure a messaging and visual continuity from the local to the national level.
Brand Standards
This program had a national scope with a large amount of participating corporate sponsors, government agencies, hosting venues, media outlets, and more. In order to keep a consistent public brand presence across that landscape, we built a set of brand standards and a usage guide to ensure a messaging and visual continuity from the local to the national level.
Plane Livery
From the stoic UN General Assembly, to the bright lights of Times Square, across a 200 mph F1 car to a tiny Swaziland village, we’ve had our work featured in some amazing places. But, it was a incredible surprise to be asked to build a design for 30,000 feet. We deployed our branding, working within Boeing’s tolerances, and designed a livery which their staff applied to its flagship executive workhorse, the 737.
Website
We built a low page site that quickly provides tour information, venues, and a light serving of the history to motivate visitors to find the tour stop near them and attend.
Website
We built a low page site that quickly provides tour information, venues, and a light serving of the history to motivate visitors to find the tour stop near them and attend.
Collateral
There are eight cities on the tour, each with a hosting venue having its own branded look and feel. We developed a set of brand standards to establish a consistent, national awareness of the Freedom Plane branding and marketing collateral templates that allowed each venue a degree of customization within that architecture.
