As part of the English National Ballet’s (ENB) rebranding campaign—in a bid to make ballet seem contemporary, accessible and relevant, while still deeming itself as a historic art form—design agency The Beautiful Meme has given the company a new logo and website.
The updated logo—created using Dalton Maag’s Aktiv Grotesk typeface—can be interpreted as both “opening quotation marks” and “ballet shoes en pointe”.
“We created a logo that is both opening quotation marks and ballet shoes en pointe, with a dash of Bauhaus aesthetic (a big influence on the ENB’s artistic director, Tamara Rojo) thrown in,” Ben Haworth of The Beautiful Meme told Creative Review. “It means that all that follow the logo—be it imagery, words or dance—is part of the artistic statement the Company is making.”
The typeface, Aktiv Grotesk, will also be used as the ballet company’s new typeface; according to Haworth, the font seems to be the “perfect vehicle to profess the English National Ballet’s new position”.
“Its clean and contemporary feel has a degree of neutrality, which is key for future collaborative projects across a wide range of the arts to enhance the vision of the ENB being the UK’s most creative company,” he added.
The rebrand also consists of an ads shot by Guy Farrow, featuring dancers from ENB wearing clothes by Vivienne Westwood—more details of the stylish shoot can be read here.
To coincide with the ENB’s new campaign and rebranding, Dalton Maag is also launching eight new styles of the Aktiv Grotesk typeface—from Hairline, Thin, Extra Bold and Black, each with matching italic type, the fonts can be found here.
[via Creative Review]