Malmö Stadsteater Brand Strategy

BRAND HIERARCHY

Malmö Stadsteater is undergoing a transformation. Hopefully a transformation that will end with a re-invention and re-shaping of the theatre in Kalendegatan and a new local - and international - awareness of the theatre in terms of inclusion and transparency. In the meantime, the theatre is faced with the challenge of signaling change while waiting for the actual transformation process.

Urgent.Agency and Malmö Stadsteater have co-developed a new brand hierarchy, meaning a new way of understanding the connection between and importance of the different locations and scenes. In order to tackle the ongoing confusion concerning the name and placement of the theatre, the existing sub-brands (Intiman, Hipp, Studion, Unga Teatern) will be reduced to a simpler hierarchy: Malmö Stadsteater is the main brand and Intiman will be the only remaining sub-brand, due to the historical importance of Intiman and due to its separate location. As of Spring 2019, the word Hipp will no longer appear in connection to the theater. Neither will the scenes Studion and Unga Teatern. New names will be introduced for the two scenes at Malmö Stadsteater (currently Hipp and Studion).

TEMPORARY IDENTITY MEANS FREEDOM TO EXPERIMENT

In order to “cleanse the palate” for the upcoming transformation - while signaling change right now - the theater has decided to engage in a 2-year period with a temporary identity that resets all preconceptions and fixed ideas about Malmö Theater. The colour scheme, the font, the use of photography and the entire way of communicating visually has changed.

The present temporary identity subscribes to the bare essentials of the world of theater and to a playful and imperfect appearance that allows the theater, its staff, and its ensemble to test and experiment their way forward.

The principles of the temporary identity will be explained in detail in this design guide. However, it should be stressed that the nature of the temporary identity means that the rules can be broken, renegotiated and played with - as long as the main theme has been sufficiently established. In other words, one can only afford to create variations, when the public recognizes the identity and understands that they are looking at a variation.