BFdesign » art

Theatre Passe Muraille

Blair — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 05:18:52 +0000

In 2007, Theatre Passe Muraille approached me to design their marketing material for the 07/08 Season. Along with creating a marketing campaign based around the productions being presented, BFdesign helped to brand the company as it entered a new era with an entirely new artistic staff.

Theatre Passe Muraille translated into English means “theatre beyond walls”, an appropriate title for the type of productions produced by one of the founding theatres of the Toronto theatre scene. I wanted to reflect the movement of the theatre company as it moves forward in the branding.

For the 09/10 season, BFdesign was approached to redesign their website and move it onto a CMS system. I created the site using WordPress and styled it according to the look of their season brochure. The site now gives the staff the ability to update the content without relying on an outside party allowing them to save money and time.

Orchestras Canada

Blair — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 06:26:02 +0000

This is probably one of my favourite brands that I have designed since I began working as a graphic designer. Orchestras Canada was in desperate need of an overhaul to their brand. The Executive Director approached me about coming up with some concepts to help move the organization’s brand into a more modern and sleek look. The final brand image is a good meld of all that the organization stands for. The “O” is the central figure in the logo, standing for “orchestra”. It also represents sound with the coloured O’s behind it vibrating like sound waves from its centre. The coloured O’s are also a representation of the diverse membership across Canada that Orchestras Canada serves. Below are a few of the early options presented:

The final artwork provided to the client had many options of use: a horizontal as well as a vertical logo for use when needed. The black and white version worked quite well.

ArtsBuild Ontario

Blair — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 05:52:48 +0000

I had originally designed the ArtsBuild Ontario logo back in 2005 when the then newly formed organization required a brand. The logo we ended up with is a representation of the name: Arts Build. The coloured blocks represent how the organization is helping to create a sustainable arts and culture sector in Ontario through Capital Planning Preparation, workshops, research and sharing of information. In 2009, I was asked to tweak the logo slightly to streamline it.

Behind The Veil

Blair — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 05:38:46 +0000

This was the first time I had the pleasure of working directly with a photo taken specifically for a project I was working on from the amazing photographer Cylla von Tiedemann. The poster was designed for Evolution Dance Theatre, a client whom I had also created the brand for earlier this year. Behind the Veil is a new piece choreographed and directed by Armineh Keshishian, the company’s founder.The photo selections I had to work with were fantastic and we really wanted to get across the sensuality of the female figure, the exoticness of the dance and the constraint many Middle Eastern woman feel when they are “behind the veil”. I’m very proud of this piece as it gave me a lot of room to play and work with some delicious colour combinations, if I do say so myself.

A brochure and house programme also accompanied the poster.

The Light In The Piazza

Blair — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 05:28:37 +0000

This fall, I had the pleasure of working with Artistic Producer Mitchell Marcus and Acting Up Stage company to design the marketing material for their upcoming production of The Light in the Piazza. Mitchell and I have worked together before on the Dora Awards and I’ve seen some of the past productions from Acting Up Stage and have always enjoyed the choices the company makes about which musicals they will bring to the stage here in Toronto.The show takes place in Florence and we wanted to create an image that evoked the sensual side of Italy, the old-world, the artistic and breathtaking beauty of the country. The texture for the background was our starting point. Once we had found that, the rest fell into place. I did a quick photo shoot one day to capture Jacquelyn in character to use as part of the imagery (unfortunately there was no budget to fly us all out for a photo shoot on location in Florence). Overall I am very happy with how this poster has turned out.

Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me

Blair — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 07:00:15 +0000

I was contracted by Adeona Productions to create a poster for their production of Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me, a play by Frank McGuinness. The client provided photos of the three actors involved in the project to use as part of the visuals. The resulting marketing material provided a dark and mysterious feel which complimented the tone of the piece.

Client: Adeona Productions
Production: Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me
Deliverables: Poster, Postcard, Newspaper Ads

Bombay Black

Blair — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:09:32 +0000

This is one of my favourite pieces I’ve created. Cahoots Theatre Projects was presenting a piece called Bombay Black and approached BFdesign to create the marketing material for the show. Thanks to the brilliant photography of Paula Wilson, I was able to art direct a striking poster evoking the sensual, evocative, and mysterious feel that the play created.According to the company, people were lining up to see the show based purely on the marketing material they had seen around town! It was very exciting to hear about that. It also made me start thinking about how theatre companies in Toronto market themselves. There is a tendency to be very artsy in their delivery of marketing material – which is great, but I feel getting more and more difficult to compete with all the advertising a person sees while walking, driving, riding through the city. The approach taken with this poster was more Hollywood in style with one large striking image.

What are your thoughts on how the theatre community markets itself? Do you like the artsy look and feel or do you think the more Hollywood-style feel is more appropriate these days?