Untitled Document

National Brain Tumor Society

We are delighted to have worked with the United States' two most prominent brain tumor organizations, The Brain Tumor Society and the National Brain Tumor Foundation, as they prepared to merge. While our creative brief included exploring entirely new names, continuity and ease were key goals. Thus, the selected name is a smooth combination of their former names. The National Brain Tumor Society, introduced in August 2008, has met with immediate, unanimous approval and acceptance.

Untitled Document

Ernest O. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Formerly Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, in this interesting and historic project we recommended the addition of "National" to the lab's name, enabling it parallel, and be thought of as par, with the United States' other National Labs. Further, there was often confusion between this lab, which is funded largely by the US Department of Energy and does basic research, and the high-security Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, funded largely by the Department of Defense. Our complete new name, the Earnest O. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, clarifies the difference between the two. The lab is known as LBNL for short.

Our work extended to increasing clarity on the actual lab site in the hills above the University of California. We recommended changing the names of the most important streets within the lab from their rather generic and unhelpful names--Blackberry, Strawberry--to the names of the lab's Nobel laureates. The streets so named are those leading to the buildings where the Nobel Prize winning work was actually done. This new system of vivid, memorable street names both honored these distinguished scientists, and helped people to better find their way around.

Untitled Document

NCIRE The Veterans Health Research Institute

NCIRE, which stands for “Northern California Institute for Research and Education” is the largest of the 86 research institutes associated with the Department of Veteran Affairs. Through its collaboration with the University of California, San Francisco medical school and the San Francisco Veterans Hospital, NCIRE is at the forefront of work on PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder). NCIRE has pioneered research on the injuries caused by IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices), as well as conducting groundbreaking research into degenerative diseases, cancer, HIV, and other diseases being suffered by older WWII, Korea, and Vietnam vets.

Yet the work is nowhere visible in the NCIRE name. In order to increase understanding and visibility, but unable to change its name due to Congressional mandate, the challenge for Master-McNeil was to express the importance of the work being done here. Our new tagline, The Veterans Health Research Institute, suggests national importance, while clearly describing the work being done and who it benefits.

Untitled Document

SilverStarlight

Our event name provides the theme for San Francisco Ballet's 2004 season opening night gala and captures the magic of this major social and fundraising event.

Untitled Document

Alliant

Alliant International University is our name for the merged California School of Professional Psychology and the United States International University.

Untitled Document

Building for the Future

Created for a multi-year fundraising effort by Bentley School in Oakland and Lafayette, California, "Building for the Future" captures both the literal, facilities-oriented purpose of the capital campaign, as well as the more aspirational goals.

Untitled Document

CompassPoint

CompassPoint Nonprofit Services is our new name for the merged Support Center for Nonprofit Management and Nonprofit Development Center. The name reflects the combined organizations' role, to provide strategic planning consulting services to nonprofits.

Untitled Document

UCSF Stanford

UCSF Stanford Health Care was our name for the merger of patient-care facilities of the Stanford Medical School and the University of California, San Francisco. The new name respected institutional heritage while clearly conveying their alliance (since dissolved).

Untitled Document

Open

Open Magazine is the Master-McNeil name for the official magazine of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, which was developed interactively with the museum's creative staff. The name suggests curiosity: open eyes, open to interpretation, open to the new.

Untitled Document

San Francisco Maritime Park

Master-McNeil developed the name San Francisco Maritime Park as a visitor-friendly nickname for The San Francisco Maritime National Park, its official name as established by the Congress. Additionally, as part of our work, we recommended renaming the former National Maritime Museum Association, which supports the park through volunteers and fundraising. Our second new name, The San Francisco Maritime National Park Association, closely mirrors the official national park name.

Untitled Document

Lindsay Wildlife Museum

In a crowded and increasingly competitive nonprofit world, this institution, formerly the Lindsay Museum, felt its message was being lost. Our name conveys the museum's specialized purpose and mission: housing, teaching about, and caring for injured wildlife.

Untitled Document

Earth, Ocean, Space, All in One Place

We worked with The California Academy of Sciences to develop a tag line to better convey the Academy's offerings, and to make it seem friendlier and less "academic." Our tag line, Earth, Ocean, Space, which was further developed by the Academy as "Earth, Ocean, Space, All in One Place" conveys the three components of the Academy: the Natural History Museum, Steinhart Aquarium, and Morrison Planetarium.