Contact is a theatre and arts venue that places young people, inclusivity and originality at the heart of everything they do.

They approached us with a brief to update their existing brand which, though effective at the time, wasn’t doing the job of communicating the values and personality of a modern, youthful and energetic theatre.

As always, we began with a period of Discovery, including a great workshop with board members, youth panelists and staff from across the organisation.

We went back to the studio and started experimenting. We needed to find an adaptable visual language that conveyed the personality traits we’d settled on during the workshop…

After some fun in the studio we presented for routes that tackled the identity in different ways. Each had its own logo…

We met with their team in Manchester and chatted through the options and possibilities.

Together we decided strong lines would form the basis of the identity. It nodded to the taped markings used on stage and in rehearsal rooms but mostly it provided a visual language of interconnectivity and inclusion.

On a practical level, using consistently sized lines served to tie productions, festivals and events together, visually. And it provided a versatile resource for further application such as wayfinding and merchandise.

We kept the logo simple but crafted the type so it feels perfectly weighted when used in portrait or landscape.

Creating an easy-to-use and flexible system for the brilliant in-house team was essential. We produced brand guidelines that weren’t too prescriptive and could be played with.

A wide range of images from various production companies (most of whom use excellent photography) could potentially make the visual identity quite messy. But the inclusion of the simple line motif helps to provide a visual consistency.

With the new branding in place we were able to move on to the website designs. It was important that the site captured the bold, innovative, inclusive spirit of the organisation at a time when their theatre was closed for an architectural overhaul.

One of our favourite features is a way to display live events alongside workshops and classes. We debated for a long time about ways to give equal parity to these areas of work before deciding to give audiences the choice.

They can use our slider to decide how the listings should be weighted.