As a studio that’s known for its interactive print (at least in our minds), we immediately knew we’d use this technique for a project someday, even if it might be far off down the road.

As it happened, a few months after watching the video, we were gearing up to begin the Dance at The Music Center season brochure. To our delight, The Music Center wanted to try something different from the use of straight production photography—an approach they had used for the last few seasons. Ombro immediately sprang to mind as the perfect “something different.” What better way to express dance than through movement? Fortunately, The Music Center was as excited as we were about the prospect of an animated brochure.

Of course, the solution also had to work for cases where there would be no fence: ads, 3-sheets, postcards, etc. So we determined that we’d use a mix of moving dancers, and static dancers paired with moving type to be prepared for all scenarios.

Initially, we had simply planned to animate the word “moving” itself in a different way for each image. However, as we experimented, we realized the series of unfenced frames were like afterimages, or impressions. That led us to change “moving” to multiple adjectives describing the varied lasting impressions the viewer could be left with by experiencing the companies this season.

With the idea solidified, we worked out each page and built a digital demo to share them with The Music Center (You can still play with it here.) After a bit of back-and-forth involving changes to the color and a couple of new adjectives, the brochure was approved.

The only problem with a piece like this is, after working on it for so long, you begin to lose perspective; by the time it went to print, we weren’t sure if anyone would find it compelling. Thankfully, when it got into people’s hands, our fears were allayed. Indeed, the response was positive, and The Music Center saw an increase in subscriptions over last season. While we surely can’t take all of the credit, we’d like to think this novel delivery of dance captured some minds, and perhaps moved some people to hop over the fence and get closer to the stage. And for those who weren’t moved, well, here’s a cat video. @scottfuse

UPDATE: 9/18/13
We’re pleased to announce the brochure just garnered us a Gold Award in the Creativity 43rd Print & Packaging Awards!

Ford Theatres, aka the John Anson Ford Theatre or Ford Amphitheater, is an intimate, open-air performance space nestled into the Hollywood Hills. This hidden gem of a venue with its eclectic programming and expansive community outreach brings the arts to those who want to be close enough to touch it.

When I met the LA County Arts Commission, who operates the venue, I was struck by how much was working in their favor: great location, beautiful surroundings, strong mission, brilliant lineup of artists from every corner of LA’s cultural landscape, and the most impressive string of Yelp reviews I’ve ever read. And yet… if I mentioned the Ford to other Angelenos I’d be greeted with a blank stare. Perhaps it was the plethora of outdoor entertainment happening in LA, particularly at the neighboring Hollywood Bowl that was keeping them a secret? More likely it was their lack of identity. We were determined to bring Ford Theatres out of the shadows.

The audience familiar with the Ford love it, and aren’t shy about it. In fact, the audience had already successfully created a brand for the venue through surprisingly consistent language. We needed to create a visual world to go with it. We started with the logo – a self-contained, totally organic, hand drawn logotype designed to encapsulate the descriptives we heard over and over again: Laid Back, Friendly, Fun, Playful, Romantic, Cozy, and Welcoming. Couple the logo with a color palette sampled from the surrounding landscape and things started to take shape.

The Campaign

The Communications team had already been batting around a few campaign ideas for their summer series when we met. “Find Yourself at the Ford” was buried at the end of the list. It jumped out to me as an empowering call to action – not only to get butts in seats, but to find people like you on stage and in the seats around you. It was the perfect way to sum up the Ford’s mission to reflect the diverse cultures of LA County. And, it was memorable!

With a new look, clear message, and a small stockpile of carefully selected audience and performance images; we were poised for implementation. We designed a system of icons to reflect the look of the logo and a variety of foundation materials including a pocket calendar, postcards, web ads, digital billboards, invites, programs and more that would act as a launching point for their new visual dialogue. All materials were tied together with consistent placement of the new logo, all new typography guidelines, and a bold color palette that used the new Ford green as its base. So far the identity is hit! Staff, artists and audiences are enthusiastically embracing it and we’re excited to see how it continues to evolve.

Learn more about Ford Theatres here. @jennfuse