Queensland Theatre 

Brand Strategy
Visual identity
Brand Toolkit
Guidelines
Motion
Season Art Direction
Photography

Theatres in Australia faced numerous challenges in 2017. Dwindling audiences, a reduction in government funding, and finding relevance with a younger demographic who are otherwise pre-occupied with less costly, more immediate forms of entertainment. These challenges didn’t escape Queensland Theatre, the state's flagship professional theatre company.

With the advent of a new art director and new direction came the opportunity to readdress how the theatre engages with old and new audiences. Over the years their communications had fallen into disarray, and therefore awareness and recognition of the great work they were doing was lacking. Queensland Theatre needed to take back ownership of its productions, and break down the barriers to theatre for the general public in order to cultivate a new generation of theatre goers.

The new identity strived to connect with new and old audiences through simplicity, brand recognition and the use of relevant facts, opinions and the translation of theatre speak to something more accessible. We developed a new wordmark and typeface – the letterforms drawing inspiration from surrounding historical signage, the brightness and contrast of the Queensland Sun, and the long angular shadows that it creates. This results in letterforms with a dimensional physicality. Used in a compositional structure of masthead and base block, powerful imagery, playful typographic expressions and provocative/engaging language live in-between. Theatre is communication. Ideas presented and considered and dissected. It's an open conversation. With a new found dialogue that pervades every interaction and experience with the theatre, Queensland aimed to bring that back. 

Queensland Theatre strives to break down barriers for new theatregoers and bring a more open and inclusive attitude to reaching audiences. We continued to work with the theatre for the next five years, working together with the the theatre's artistic director, and setting the the art direction of each season. These focussed on key aspects of Queensland Theatre such as set building, lighting design, and the actors themselves. We gave audiences a new ways to connect with the characters, sets and storytelling in a multi-faceted way, opening up theatre like they’ve never seen before.

Collaborators

Creative Director
— Johanna Roca
— Mel Baillache
Design Directors
— Olivia King
Strategists
— Damian Borchok
Designers
— Dan Ingham
— Atsaya Gabiryalpillai
— Kimberly Luo
— Kinal Ladha
Writers
— Mat Groom
Photographers
— David Kelly
— Tim Jones
Typeface Design
— Dave foster