Through Parkland College, our three-person team was tasked with producing a logo for a newly-rediscovered ballet performance of Romeo and Juliet, originally composed by Sergey Prokofiev in the 1930s. Working in conjunction with the Mark Morris Dance Group and Champaign's Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, we produced not only a logo but venue posters and a gallery show of our process featuring a recorded Art in Conversation event with Mark Morris.
Process
This was a bigger job than we'd worked with before, so we sketched a lot of options.The concepts requested in the brief included infinity, connection, historical context, and organic forms. These are just my own sketches, Ad and Bogdan had even more at the beginning.
The initial group of proposals sent to the client.
The preferred concept was selected; we sampled fonts and refined lines. Bard College, where the performance would premiere, was anxious to get a final design in time for the website launch.
Final logo for the Mark Morris Dance Group's performance of Sergey Prokofiev's Romeo & Juliet, On Motifs of Shakespeare.
Once the logo was finalized, we needed to promote the performance at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. Due to the tight time frame, several options were delivered at the same time to representatives of both Krannert and MMDG so they could choose quickly.
Poster selected for display at the Krannert Center Performing Arts, the Mark Morris Dance Group's official Midwest home.
This was becoming quite the production! As a promotion for the Krannert performance and to highlight the show's local ties, a gallery show documenting our design process was planned that would feature a taping of an episode of "For Art's Sake" as an Art In Conversation discussion with choreographer Mark Morris and Krannert director Mike Ross. We held a little Q&A session at the end, but the real focus was the new performance.
Of course, the show and opening reception needed promotion. Postcards were sent, and posters hung.
This is the postcard's front, including final logo, motifs extended and modernized from the show poster, and required gallery branding.
(Our undertaking was international since Ad is from Israel, Bogdan is from Romania, and I am from... Detroit.)
Promo postcard back, with full show/reception details and Illinois Arts Council acknowlegement
Poster advertising the process show opening and Art In Conversation event. Our little show even made it into the newspaper.
