The Old Vic
Brand Identity, Campaigns
Matthew Warchus becoming artistic director brought a dramatic new approach to the theatre
We worked with Harry Pearce and his team at Pentagram, liaising between the design agency and the theatre to create a bold and raw approach focused on the typography-led posters from the theatre’s archive in Bristol.
Fresh thinking
For the promotional posters for No’s Knife which were displayed in various locations across London including Islington, Brixton, Shoreditch and Hackney, we split the artwork over two sheets allowing one to focus entirely on the typography, and the other to prioritise the commissioned illustration. This has been repeated in further campaigns.
Unique insight
Years of experience of being part of in-house design teams meant we were able to offer unique insight on issues the theatre faced as an organisation, as well as possible design solutions which were incorporated into the branding guidelines.
Time-saving templates
We led on creating working documents and templates in Photoshop and InDesign, adapting those provided by Pentagram across a wide range of assets.
These will work in future to create great consistency in how artwork is displayed across marketing campaigns both in print and digital. This can be an incredibly time consuming process, especially as the theatre strives to announce a whole season of work at once meaning a great deal of artwork is needed to be supplied at the same time.
To solve this issue – which had time as well as cost implications – we created a new workflow for creating images for partner websites which dramatically streamlined the process and significantly shortened the time spent artworking.
Bar and café menus bring together the new “at The Old Vic” titling structure, with limited colour so they can be printed in house. The paper choice provides a feeling of quality and luxury, whilst being recycled and uncoated so as to not feel decadent or excessively expensive.
Education evaluation booklets set in an adaptable A5 template with a strong grid system. Titles can run horizontally or vertically and align to the line spacing of the main Old Vic logotype.
