Creative Strategy
Author: April Alsup
Client: BANNED the Musical
Project: Brand Identity
Website: www.banned.show
Date: 2/21/24
Revision: 1.2
Project Background:
BANNED the Musical is scheduled to debut the first week of August at the 2024 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The discussion of gender can be a divisive and sensitive topic these days. Our show appeals to the masses by developing empathy for a small group of vibrant and creative young people who challenge those boundaries and are marginalized as a result.
Project Objective:
Create a logo and image identity for the show that draws you in, is memorable and makes you think, that establishes the brand’s image while providing the underlying premise for the show. After first seeing the logo people should momentarily wonder and then be able to easily articulate what the image said to them at least a week after seeing it.
Target Audience:
United Kingdom (UK), just about everyone, performed by Millennials and Gen Z.
Assumptions:
We have an entertaining and compelling show about gender norms. People in the UK are familiar with gender issues and probably know someone who is non-conforming or transgender. Most have already developed opinions on the subject. People will read through the Fringe program multiple times between now and August, but this isn’t about selling tickets through special offers.
Positioning Statement:
Musical theater’s gender-bending forerunners like Angel (Rent), Lola (Kinky Boots), Hedwig (& the Angry Inch), Priscilla (Queen of the Desert), and Dr. Frank-N-Furter (Rocky Horror) are so “Sassy” and “Vegas Fabulous”, our show is less about making an icon than it is about presenting a group of non-conforming individuals with common talents and struggles, who are marginalized for not abiding by today’s gender norms.
Strategy:
Rethink Gender. Following a small group of artists who meet at a gender identity therapy session to their debut at the New Horizon performing arts festival, provide elements that show the broad spectrum and various dimensions of gender and speaks candidly to an audience of all ages.
Design Considerations:
The visuals should be simple and use a minimal color palette. Not too serious, use playful colors and elements. Social media is a prominent element in the lives of young adults, use electronic devices and gadgets like phones, tablets, and/or a watch. Find a background element that shows gender diversity in the public space and can be reused.
Tactical:
Look for an element that accentuates one’s gender, (stereo typical) women use makeup accessories like hair pieces, jewelry boxes and mirrors, for men it could be a moustache or a tie, break the barrier between male and female here. Find an abstract artistic treatment that captures the spectrum of gender, include the use of electronic gadgets and create a modern genderless world.
Single Net Impression:
This seems like a real show about real people succeeding in spite of adversity
