The Eastern Standard team has a long history of working extensively with local landmark performing arts institutions — including The Philly POPS, The Mann Center, Love the Arts in Philadelphia, and more.
Because we are uniquely qualified in this arena, we were selected to create a comprehensive branding strategy for the then-new Venice Island Performing Arts and Recreation Center, a vibrant state-of-the-art community resource located in Philadelphia’s Manayunk neighborhood between the Canal and the Schuylkill River. Situated atop an underground stormwater tank and pumping station and managed by the Philadelphia Department of Parks and Recreation (PPR), Venice Island has a two-fold mission: providing diverse creative opportunities for Philadelphians of all ages, while at the same time improving the Schuylkill River’s water quality.
The Venice Island logo, inspired by the water and land surrounding the facility, set the tone for the full suite of brand assets.
Working as a virtual CMO on an introductory level, our web development team got right to work building the information architecture for a new website while. In tandem, our design department began an exhaustive internal identity design process, during which we explored many options. We then applied the approved concept to both the facility identity and the visual design of the site.
Our goal throughout the process was to leverage our broad-based industry experience to promote Venice Island as a cutting- edge new multi-use venue while also highlighting the diverse lineup of independently operated events that are hosted there, including professional, amateur, and children’s theater, concerts, community meetings, camps, fairs, markets, and various lectures and classes. The site’s homepage and navigation, in particular, are designed to draw attention to these two areas.
Aside from general background, visitor, and volunteer/donor information, the key features include an Events page, which provides site-wide options for grouping, featuring, and co-promoting events in a series; and an Updates page, which offers news and blog entries that are easily maintained by the client.
Because Venice Island’s eco-friendly facility incorporates a strong connection to the surrounding land, green spaces, and water — not only the river itself, but also a water park feature and “sprayground” — the imagery and color palette of the overall branding and website reflect these themes, as well. Throughout our process, we worked with PPR to ensure that each of the new identity elements also aligned with their existing brand.
The next phase of this project includes applying these designs to a complementary suite of “crossover” collateral print materials.
