Actorsworkshop gives you wings
Originally established in 2001, Actorsworkshop run acting and performance workshops, offering a broad range of theatrical, personal and professional development experiences. They run creative, focused, and regular workshop sessions as well as tailor made, one to one, drama coaching and bespoke training schemes for individuals, kids and groups from their new home in Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff.
In the Autumn of last year they approached us to effectively wipe their current visual slate clean and produce a comprehensive overhaul of their brand and graphic language. The brief asked for the new identity to speak non-prescriptively, flexibly but above all cohesively through all their sub-brands and touch points.
Quickly establishing a need to create a memorable and ownable icon, we broke down the three core elements of Actorsworkshop’s remit (theatre, presentation & personal development) as a starting point. In its simplest form, the Mark started life as three inward pointing triangles forming three quarters of a solid square; the negative space then created an apparent ‘missing’ triangle, illustrative of the inclusion of the individual or group needed to form a solid ‘whole’. The Mark continued to evolve (shown below), taking the W of Workshop, the icon morphed into a more schematic form, inspired by a simple butterfly shape which itself provides a great paradox with the Workshop journey.
The Butterfly Mark’s wings are broken up; one wing shows the individual (/group), the other shows convergence with the three core elements of Actorsworkshop, capturing movement and giving a bold authority to the identity. The type is set in Futura, chosen for its clinical lines, assertive angles and positive, open bowls which compliment the Mark.
By breaking up elements of the butterfly and cropping into it in various ways throughout the literature and supporting materials, the brand creates an unexpected and explosive ethos. Importantly, this allows for a sense of movement and personal interpretation throughout application.
Pages from the Brand Guidelines document:
Below: we produced a distinctive stationery range on a concrete coloured Conqueror stock:
Homepage of new Actorsworkshop website limegreentangerine designed and built:
Actorsworkshop brand carried on social media platforms:
Roller banners:
