✦ Brand
Project team
Brian
Cat
Ciara
Oisin
The Abbey Theatre is a really unique organisation. Established before we had an independent state, it’s been telling the stories of the nation and so much more for 120 years. Research and strategy work by wove highlighted an organisation of diversity, depth and vibrancy, that was struggling to communicate this vitality and valued place in the nation.
The challenge was to develop a brand that would hold a place as an institution of weight at the heart of Irish life, while also being able to connect with very modern issues, and deliver a dynamic, digital age experience across a wide range of touchpoints. From selling a show and providing an electric experience, to also being a serious, vital cultural institution on a National and International stage.
We worked with illustrator Steve Doogan to bring the heritage logo into the modern world and we produced a dynamic brand palette based on the Celtic calendar. Having selected a typeface that nods to the theatre’s ‘right’ heritage and created a series of robust templates to give the Abbey a vibrant new voice.
The new strategic approach facilitated a move away from a singular image approach, and enabled the Abbey to work directly with artists, illustrators and photographers. While certain assets and aspects will stay consistent, the images, content and visual language will respond to the nature of different events and evolve over time. And help the Abbey Theatre deliver a safe space for dangerous thinking, filled with electric moments, befitting the National Theatre of Ireland.
We produced an impactful toolkit facilitating a shift from a reductive approach of only communicating through show images, to a much expanded approach - showing all sides of the organisation, communicating a spectrum of emotions and experiences, connecting with a much wider set of audiences on a range of relevant aspects. A new strategic approach to production images facilitated a move away from the logistically difficult big image per show approach, and enabled the Abbey to work directly with local illustrators, makers and photograhers.