Birmingham Royal Ballet rebrands with “emphatic wordmark”
NB Studio has created a new visual identity for the organisation, in an attempt to “turn up the volume on their artistry”
The rebrand follows the appointment of Carlos Acosta as director in 2020, and reflects his ambition to win new fans, stage new work, and create social impact.
NB Studio has created a fresh typographic approach for the 75-year-old ballet, replacing the serif wordmark with a more Brutalist-style sans serif. This “distinctive type architecture”, as the studio describes it, is used to bookend photography, and also business cards.
The emphasis is on full body imagery that celebrates dancers’ athletic ability. “The identity aims to be as dynamic, visceral, daring and beautiful as ballet itself,” say Nick Finney and Sam Pitman of NB Studio.
As well as a new wordmark and typographic framework, NB Studio has created an updated colour palette. Dancers appear against backdrops of ocean blue and flame orange, which emphasises the starkness of the ballet’s new logo.
Finney and Pitman say the brand “rallies the company to reach out and turn up the volume on their artistry. It’s a multi-platform refresh designed to take ballet places it’s never been before – creatively, emotionally, physically and digitally.”
Latest from CR
