The STC was established in 1970 and has a mission to explore Shakespeare’s works through a contemporary lens. “Its core belief is that theatre acts as collective storytelling and shared witnessing, and is essentially a force for good,” a press release explains. Therefore, Marina’s brief was to create a brand identity that expressed this, and “the continuing relevance of Shakespeare, enhanced by the contemporary perspective that STC brings to his timeless and universal stories”. In line with this, Marina proposed a creative expression focused around “a central idea of interplay between a broad range of dimensions – classic and contemporary, artist and audience, stage and digital, entertaining and learning, intimate and collective, real and unreal”.
Washington’s award-winning Shakespeare Theatre Company (STC) recently underwent a dramatic shift in leadership. Simon Godwin (previously of the National Theatre, Royal Court and Bristol Old Vic) became Artistic Director and Chris Jennings (previously at the Roundhouse) took on the role of Executive Director. To see in this new era, the new leadership team felt it would be appropriate to have a full visual rebrand, and who better to see this through than Pentagram’s branding guru Marina Willer?