They came to us with a brief to help them tidy their visual identity and make sense of the ways they communicate their complex organisational structure as they entered their 50th anniversary year.

After some initial discussions we facilitated a workshop with all of the senior staff and faculty heads. The fun, collaborative, empathetic nature of the workshop made for an informal and hugely effective afternoon.

With everyone in the room, we were able to dispel some misconceptions and make some big decisions (with impact way beyond our work).

Our brief had been focused on marketing messages but it became clear that our thinking needed to be broader and to help The Place reposition itself in an international context and to provide the visual framework to help with that.

We were working to a tight timeframe so we worked concurrently on ‘positioning’ (what we stand for and what is our personality?) and helping with mission, vision and value propositions.

With the backing of decisions made in the workshop we were able to propose three optional organisational structures. They chose the most radical change, adopting The Place as a parent identity for all activity (where previously each had its own identity).

Our brief had been to tidy their logo so we pursued that option. But we also felt that they needed to signal a bigger change if the rebranding was to be successful.

So we proposed a number of different visual approaches, filling the walls of our studio as we did so.

Being able to work in this more flexible way gave us platform to engage their team in a broader discussion about their visual identity and their brand.

We knew they wouldn’t have the budget to fully implement a complete overhaul of all their communications, but we wanted to provide a framework so they could implement it gradually, using their in-house resources.

And we wanted to ensure that we thought from a digital-first perspective as we knew that a significant portion of their communication is via social media.

In the end, their team chose the most radical route of all.

We redefined them, putting the emphasis on the definite article – they are The Place for dance in the UK – giving them a significant advantage when approaching international students, venues and producers.

We delivered a suite of digital assets and comprehensive brand guidelines so their team can easily produce communications using templates, or can turn up the metaphorical dial and create more bespoke work that remains on-brand.

And once the team at The Place had rolled out the brand, we celebrated with a trip to see a show.

The confidence and simplicity of the new brand has been an effective way for The Place to mark their 50th year. It’s been applied flexibly to put dancers in the spotlight but it can also take centre stage when the moment is right.