THE EGYPTIAN THEATRE

THE EGYPTIAN THEATRE

PROBLEM
Despite being a cherished institution, the Egyptian Theatre, a single-screen venue offering exclusive content in a historic Seattle location, lacks a cohesive visual brand that captures its charm and also appeals to the ever-growing city tech market.

GOAL
Using three established character traits (nostalgic, colorful, and local) as inspiration, create a branding system that, like the theater, celebrates the old while simultaneously ushering in elements of modernity; assemble and articulate brand rules within a brand guide book; apply brand elements to various pieces of collateral such as advertisements, swag, and exterior decor.

SOLUTION
In the face of various challenges, including understanding the complicated and layered nature of the beloved institution, our determined solution, “An Extraordinary Experience,” and its application across various platforms, successfully harmonizes vintage and gritty with modern and sleek.

PROBLEM
Despite being a charming and cherished institution, the Egyptian Theatre (now operated by SIFF) lacks a cohesive visual brand that captures its historic charm, but also appeals to the ever-growing Seattle tech market.

GOAL
Using three established character traits: nostalgic, colorful, and local, as inspiration, create a branding system that, like the theater, celebrates the old while simultaneously ushering in elements of modernity; assemble and articulate brand rules within a brand guide book; apply brand elements to various pieces of collateral such as advertisements, swag, and exterior decor.

SOLUTION
Despite facing various challenges, including understanding the complicated and layered nature of the beloved institution, the determined solution, “An Extraordinary Experience,” and its application across various platforms, successfully harmonizes vintage and gritty with modern and sleek.

UNDERSTANDING THE EGYPTIAN
The initial research phase was driven by efforts to distill this complicated brand down to its essence and to understand the opportunity pockets that could drive expansion into new markets. This included an audit of competitors, interviews with staff, and various branding exercises that helped to parse out exactly what the brand is and is not. Three brand pillars: nostalgic, colorful, and local arose from these discussions.  

UNDERSTANDING THE EGYPTIAN
The initial research phase was driven by efforts to distill this complicated brand down to its essence and to understand the opportunity pockets that could drive expansion into new markets. This included an audit of competitors, interviews with staff, and various branding exercises that helped to parse out exactly what the brand is and is not. Three brand pillars: nostalgic, colorful, and local arose from these discussions.  

FORMING THE CONCEPT
Aiming to create a concept that could convey the true uniqueness of attending a screening at the Egyptian, the team decided to hone in on the notion of the experience—the Extraordinary Experience—and the various touch-points that includes. (Extraordinary, in this case, being the one-of-a-kind harmony of old and new that the audience encounters at the venue.) This concept was then used this as a framework for its branding efforts.

FORMING THE CONCEPT
Aiming to create a concept that could convey the true uniqueness of attending a screening at the Egyptian, the team decided to hone in on the notion of the experience—the Extraordinary Experience—and the various touch-points that includes. (Extraordinary, in this case, being the one-of-a-kind harmony of old and new that the audience encounters at the venue.) This concept was then used this as a framework for its branding efforts.

CREATING THE MARK
Next, the team set out to create a versatile logomark that could visually marry the theater’s namesake, The Egyptian, with both textured elements that represent the “old” and modern geometric elements that represent the “new”. This process included many iterations and explorations of type, texture, scale, and negative space.   

CREATING THE MARK
Next, the team set out to create a versatile logomark that could visually marry the theater’s namesake, The Egyptian, with both textured elements that represent the “old” and modern geometric elements that represent the “new”. This process included many iterations and explorations of type, texture, scale, and negative space.   

SHAPING THE BRAND
Having established the mark, the team then began shaping supplementary brand elements, such as body type, color, photo-treatment and illustration style—being sure to maintain the notion of harmonizing old and new along the way. Textured architectural renderings and elements of art-deco patterning were some of the solutions utilized during this process.

SHAPING THE BRAND
Having established the mark, the team then began shaping supplementary brand elements, such as body type, color, photo-treatment and illustration style—being sure to maintain the notion of harmonizing old and new along the way. Textured architectural renderings and elements of art-deco patterning were some of the solutions utilized during this process.

SEE THE ENTIRE BRAND BOOK BELOW:

SEE THE ENTIRE BRAND BOOK BELOW: