Belvoir St Theatre
Client
Belvoir St TheatreDate
2008 - OngoingType of work
Brand identity
Campaign
Print
Digital
Motion
Image Creation
Rough Magic
Working together with Belvoir St Theatre for almost two decades continues to be a great highlight of Alphabet’s long and successful collaborations. Belvoir is a much loved and respected theatre company with whom we have created and developed an enormous body of award-winning work. Nestled in the back streets of Surry Hills, Belvoir has been creating rough magic for the stage since 1984. Boisterous, provocative, offbeat, unexpected, generous, exuberant – the work speaks for itself as it dynamically weaves its way through depictions of the human condition in all its guises. We love working with Belvoir… they represent so much of what we believe in and allow us to express why we do what we do, in the best possible ways.
A horse called Troy
In 2011 Alphabet re-branded Belvoir Theatre. The unique mark has become synonymous with all things Belvoir Theatre. Its bold simplicity reflects the very core of theatre making… resourceful storytelling employing illusion to ignite the imagination. Belvoir is renowned for resourcefulness. Making something of seemingly nothing … A bathtub is a boat, a twig is a forest, a step ladder is a mountain and we, as the audience suspend disbelief and happily accept it to be true… A chair is a horse and therein lies the magic of Belvoir’s much-loved identity. The brand identity and mark have enjoyed many awards and accolades. Beyond all the fanfare – it is simply a concise expression of What Belvoir do.
“Simplicity is its own reward”
Steven Heller - Core 77 International Design Awards, 2011
Website Design
The design of the site has been a great opportunity to both showcase and stress test the brand identity and all supporting assets. From initial strategy workshops, wireframing, design and user experience testing, Alphabet was responsible for project managing the conception and delivery of the site.
Art Direction
Framing the essence of a story in a still image is both the most challenging and satisfying moment of creating visuals. Distilling the emotion and sentiment of a production relies on astute art direction. Collaborating with, and articulating clear intentions to a team of creatives (photographers, stylists, hair and make-up), Alphabet works closely with all key players to ensure great outcomes. Capturing the eclecticism, energy and nuance of the productions makes for unique, curious and memorable images.
A mixed-bag of odds and ends taking mad and foolhardy steps towards some kind of human magnificence.
From 2016 Alphabet have collaborated with Artistic Director Eamon Flack to evolve the Belvoir St Theatre story and to provide a new visual direction encompassing Eamons vision for the Company. Expressions of diversity, spirited follies and fascinations, gestures grand and small – Sweeping parades of humanity inform look, tone and feel of the Season campaign material as it finds its way to print, motion and digital applications far and wide.
“Its been indescribably brilliant working with such a talented and dedicated team again this year. I really appreciate all the hard work you always put in.”
Aishlinn McCarthy - Marketing Director
Change of the Guard
A change in Artistic Director, saw Ralph Myers take the reigns from Neil Armfield. A new vision and direction for Belvoir was in play. Replacing the canvas backgrounds and carnivalesque nature of Armfileds Belvoir, Ralphs’s vision (as reflected in his programming), was for a very stripped-back approach to representing plays. Rather than attempt to pre-empt or suggest a narrative with props or costuming… the intent was to explicitly connect with the actor. Portraits of key players at their most vulnerable, happiest, pensive, aggressive, cheekiest and candid set the direction for all campaign material. Honest and to the point,the shift was brave and the impact was positive.
