merit
The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is considered to be one of the top philharmonic ensembles in the world. Founded in 1881, this prestigious musical institution has been led by Seiji Ozawa, John Williams and other legendary conductors. It has hosted musical luminaries including Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Duke Ellington, Elvis Costello, and The Who, and recorded iconic film scores such as Schindler’s List and Being John Malkovich.
Developing a new brand identity for the historic BSO and its sub-brands The Boston Pops, Tanglewood, and Symphony Hall has been our largest and most ambitious design project to date. Additionally, we were asked to craft a new brand strategy and brand architecture for the renowned, 143-year-old music institution.
Booking a BSO gig would be a feather in any musician’s cap, and attending a show at one of its theaters, an anticipated experience for many music lovers. However, with all that history and fanfare, the brand might be misinterpreted as exclusive, elitist, and inaccessible by younger audiences.
Our mission was to pop its perception as a stuffy, traditional musical venue without diminishing the legacy of the BSO’s prestigious past.
The BSO’s design system was created in the late 1800s, the era of composer/conductor Johannes Brahms. We needed to redefine how to express the incredible work of the institution to appeal to modern music lovers. We worked to infuse modernity, energy, and diversity into the design template to make the brand image and communications of The BSO, The Boston Pops, Tanglewood, and Symphony Hall accessible to a broader audience.
We worked The BSO’s iconic architectural influences into the style guide And our color palette fuses the historical lineage of the brand with discrete modern influences for each venue: Blue for the BSO, red for the Boston Pops, green for Tanglewood, and gold for Symphony Hall. Everything is unified under the tagline: “Where Music Lives.”
The form and contour of three venues—Symphony Hall, The Hatch Shell, and The Koussevitzky Music Shed—create a geometric language for the BSO identity system.
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