Sam Lane
Extended Practice
OUGD603
Wigan Little Theatre
Background
Target Audience / TOV
Wigan Little Theatre is a small, independent and intimate 230-seater theatre located in the centre of Wigan town with history dating back to 1943. It is a vibrant historic and beautiful building where you can enjoy both contemporary and traditional theatre and much more. The theatre is an exciting, friendly and vibrant place.
The Target Audience is primarily people who are based in the North West, so the tone of voice must reflect this. This could be enhanced by making the promotional material surrounding the brand specific to the Wigan region. The Target age is varied as their is a massive variety in performances. They often tend to be families though, including children which needs to be considered.
Brief Outline
Deliverables
A Full Rebrand of Wigan Little Theatre. The most important thing is to keep the traditional values of the theatre but express them in a much more contemporary way. The original logo must be treated with care and updated in a professional way, that still politely considers the history of it’s original design. As the current has lasted over 50 years, the new logo must reflect the old and be able to be timeless enough to last another 50 years or more. The logo must be applied to all Web and Print based collateral and a design template must be created for the promotion of the theatre and it’s events in order to be easily adaptable for future reference. This includes ticket design, poster design and other promotional material.
- Brand Guidelines - Promotional Material (Posters / Postcards) - Tickets & Guides - Wayfinding - Web Presence
01/11
Sam Lane
01
Extended Practice
Reference Imagery
OUGD603
Wigan Little Theatre
02/11
Brands that run on Systems
Colour Coded Brands
Throught this brief, I will constantly be refering to Brands that run on Systems and trying to play towards this end goal. I think in the case of this, it’s important that the brand is cohesive and is built on a system that can be used, and re-used in different ways. It’s important that the brand is strong enough to keep being refreshed year after year.
For this brief, I’ve been looking at a lot of brands that run on certain colour schemes, sometimes colour coded to create another system for the Brand to work in. This is something else that will be constantly referenced when building the image of the brand.
Extended Practice
Sam Lane
02
Research
OUGD603
Wigan Little Theatre
02/11
Original Brandmark & Visit to the Theatre
Shakespearean / Wiganese Language
When I first proposed this brief to the owners of the Wigan Little Theatre, I visited the theatre and took a couple of photographs to see the heritage and history of the place. You can see the building in the bottom left and this is what the original logo (too right) is influence from. As the owner wanted me to ‘handle the rebrand with care’, I felt that this kind of primary research was really helpful for me to get an idea of the close knit family type feel of the theatre and it’s members.
I also researched quite a lot into both Shakespearean Language and Wiganese Language. As I wanted to focus on copy writing within this brief, I felt it would be necessary to use a hybrid of these to help showcase the idea of traditional meeting contemporary. (displayed in the two middle images) History of the Theatre After speaking to the owner of the Theatre, I realised that it had a lot more Hisotry and Heritage then I first thought, I managed to get hold of a lot of old photography of the theatre which could help me re-vamp the brand in possibly creating a vintage-modern look. (the top image is a cue outside Wigan Little Theatre in 1943)
Sam Lane
03
Extended Practice
Development
OUGD603
Wigan Little Theatre
04/11
Initial Concept & Development
Concept Two & Development
I had a few different concepts before settling on the one idea of the transitional logo (shown in the bottom right) My initial logo was stripped back, a box around the type which was simply a more contemporary version of the original logo I went on to apply this concept to posters (shown at the top), before realising that the concept and execution was a little bit too contemporary and lost any sort of tradition.
I also had another concept which revolved much more in the copy rather than the logo itself. The idea was to keep the words ‘little theatre’ and place a line above this which could be interacted with and filled in to a random word depending on the users personal preference. I also started to apply this concept before realising it was too confused, and started to veer away form the traditional principles of the theatre, and of course the original logo.
Sam Lane
Extended Practice
OUGD603
Wigan Little Theatre
Brandmark
Tagline & Typography
From my initial research, I really felt it was necessary to keep the tradition of the original logo. but update in a contemporary way. That is why the Primary Brandmark has been derived from the original logo of the Theatre, which the the shape of the Building. The shapes that make up the building are split up and moved around to make the three unique letterforms ‘WLT’, giving it a brand new image, from something old.
I also created a slogan which i felt would help the brand of the theatre gain more recognition. This plays on the fact that although the theatre is small, it still packs a punch. Minion Pro is the corporate typeface that will be used on all promotional material. I chose this again as a nod to the traditional elements and heritage of the theatre.
Little Theatre. Big Impact.
04
Brand Guidelines
Image Treatment Brandmark Adaptation I wanted the Brandmark to be adaptable and constantly changing. The logo physically moves from one shape to the other on screen and I wanted this to represent the forward thinking contemporary movement of the theatre, whilst also giving a nod to traditional.
A well as keeping with traditions to some extent, I wanted to help bring a playful, contemporary feel to something that is otherwise only seen as traditional. The colour Scheme is split into three groups of dark and light tones of a wide range of colours. These complimentary colours will be the basis of the brand and will work together and separately for branding and promotional material to bring that playful edge.
04/10
Sam Lane
05
Extended Practice
Brand Application
OUGD603
Wigan Little Theatre
Business Cards
Building Blocks
I decided to Triplex print the Business Cards in order to help add a touch of quality to the theatre’s presence whilst also keeping the vibrant brand colour scheme. I applied the full colour range to bring variety within appearance. The front is die cut with the middle layer in the triplex being a vibrant stock showing through.
I wanted my created Brand System to be built upon a series of interchangable shapes which was derived from the original brandmark. These components are the brands building blocks and I decide to physically create them in order to help me build my own compositions, and also to photograph them and help use them as part of the brands promotional material.
05/10
Sam Lane
06
Extended Practice
External Promotion
OUGD603
Wigan Little Theatre
06/10
The Shape System
Shakepearean Quotes
I created the Brand System to be versatile in order to be used for internal and external promotional campaigns. When paired with the colour scheme, the shapes make up the new Brand. I used the shapes decoratively in this particular example (bottom left) with the shapes being manipulated to create the skull of Shakpeare’s ‘Hamlet’, but I hoped that the way of usin ghte shapes could evolve as the brand evolves.
From my initial research, my concept focussed on using a mixture of classical shakespearean quotes along side, more up to date northern slang that relates directly to the region of Wigan and the North West surrounding areas. Here are some examples of the printed postcards using Shakespearean Quotes to sell particular events at the theatre. For example, the ‘Listen to many, Speak to a Few’ Quote is used to promote Lectures and Talks at the Theatre.
Sam Lane
07
Extended Practice
Promotional Material
OUGD603
Wigan Little Theatre
Listings / Guide
Brand System (Photography)
A simple fold out listings leaflet come poster will be used for upcoming listings. This could be easily picked up and taken away from the theatre. The leaflet is folded down to A6, meaning it could be carried away as a leaflet. It folds out so that the information is in an easy to digest grid to see what’s going on, and this can turn into a poster which could be pinned to a wall or notice board for easy reference. A small Listings brocuhure has also been created.
Sometimes, the shapes cannot be used as part of the brand system, and photographic imagery takes its place. Here are some examples of this promoting Comedians at the Theatre. You can see how the brand is still consistent. The logo sit’s in the top bar and the image fills the section below. This creates an easily usable template for future events.
07/10
Sam Lane
08
Extended Practice
Merchandise
OUGD603
Wigan Little Theatre
Tickets & Badges
T-Shirts & Totes
Tickets have been created that have a perforated edge. To help keep costs down, The date isn’t printed on the tickets, and instead a stamp is used, along with a stamp of the brandmark, to avoid any possible wastage of tickets. Badges have been printed with the slogan and brandmark, showing the variety within the colour scheme.
Further merchandise is proposed to be available in the ‘Little Store’ which is located inside the theatre itself. These would be in the form of T-shirts and Totes which would help promote the brand on the road. Creating these supporting materials with hopefully help raise the profile of the new brand.
08/10
Sam Lane
09
Extended Practice
External & Internal Visuals
OUGD603
Wigan Little Theatre
Event Promotion
Wayfinding
Specific events will be promoted externally as well as internally. These proposals show how the posters can change format to fit banners which hang in the Town as well as a large scale material banner which is attatched to the side of the Theatre itself.
Wayfinding has been proposed to be used inside the theatre itself. Each section holding it’s very own colour, within the brand guidelines. Patterns will be printed using these specific colours along with signage to make navigation easier.
09/10
Sam Lane
10
Extended Practice
Web Presence
OUGD603
Wigan Little Theatre
Multiple Platforms
Brand Consistency
The brand transfers seamlessly into digital with a responsive website that runs across multiple platforms with ease. The website runs on a simple grid format which shows the navigation bar sitting at the top of the page and a full bleed image / text system, which moves continuously. This was done to help keep in with the brand system and to also create a bold visual impact which is unique online as it is through print.
The images always use the colour scheme, if they are illustrative or photographic and this is what keeps the brand consistency from print into digital.
10/10