Communication

The guidelines for visual communication can be found in this design guide under the various headlines. In general, the visual communication can be divided into two groups:

  • Communication about the theater (the brand itself)

  • Communication about plays and events

The written communication will enhance this distinction: There is a story to be told about the theater and its changes, and then there is the daily and ongoing communication about the various plays and events.

CORE VALUES

The core values express the brands long-term and strategic benefits that distinguishes Malmö Stadsteater from other performing arts institutions. Core values characterize how we work internally to create value externally. The first core value is related to Malmö Stadsteater´s "product". The second has to do with the relationship between the brand Malmö Stadsteater and the outside world. The third and final core value is related to the feeling we want the outside world to have for Malmö Stadsteater and how this also works as a driving force. The three core values are hanging together and are dependent on each other. You can say that they describes and bring together our identity and personality.

Three core values:

Product:
ENSEMBLETEATER / ENSEMBLE THEATER 

Relation:
TILLSAMMANS / TOGETHER

Driving force / feeling:
NYFIKENHET / CURIOSITY

TONE OF VOICE

Tone of Voice is central to the character of our communication – how we write, what words we choose and how we express ourselves. It is the linguistic part of our brand's identity.

Tone of voice is as important as graphic design. Our tone must be in accordance with the brand's personality, but of course, it cannot be completely identical in all situations. Just as when we talk to each other, our tone should vary according to context, for example in sales texts, in social media, to the press or to politicians.

Our written communications should compliment our visual identity and conform to the theatre's vision, its internal culture and the way the theatre is perceived externally.

Four keywords:

  1. Be Human - It is about people, told by people to people. Aim for personal connection.

  2. Be Direct - We are looking for contact. Is the text relevant and important? Is it recognisable and familiar? What do you really think? We should speak directly to our audience and the outside world.

  3. Be Warm - We love theater. We want to share that love. Malmö Stadsteater is a lively and warm place, where enthusiasm is infectious and the joy of  storytelling is obvious.

  4. Be Curious - The right questions will open more doors than well-prepared (or well-rehearsed) answers. We work as an ensemble to explore and stretch the boundaries of what a theatre can do.

Our tone of voice will help to create an emotional and intellectual bond between Malmö Stadsteater and our audience at an emotional level, a connection based on our common love of theater and stories.

Do's and Don'ts:

Do

  • Address the audience's feelings and thoughts.

  • Talk about essence and meaning.

  • Find relevance.

  • Make sure the message has the same source: Malmö Stadsteater

  • Trust that the audience can think for themselves and give them "food for thought".

  • Ask questions.

  • Challenge and tease.

Don't

  • Don’t be afraid to challenge the audience.

  • Don’t prioritise plot description over meaning and theme.

  • Don’t let the classics remain inviolate (or untouched). Find an angle.

  • Don’t allow our various buildings, partners, contributors, directors or others be the source of the message.

  • Don’t think about what you think the audience would like to hear. Don’t let the lowest common denominator control our communications.

NARRATIVE about the theater

Malmö Stadsteater is a living, breathing organism with one singular purpose: to explore the essence of life. To ransack human existence and expose social constructs and cultural truisms. And we have reached the conclusion that all change truly starts at home.

We, the ensemble, move as one. As the main character of a classic educational novel, we are slowly peeling off layer after layer of our collective identity - aware that very soon we will be deep in the fourth act, facing a new reality in the shape of a home transformed.

The old familiar hippodrome will add a new chapter to its long history as cultural watering hole for the citizens of Malmö and while the transformation is taking place, we, as an ensemble, find ourselves untethered and free to roam and explore the depth and reach of our art in direct contact with the citizens of Malmö.

To arm ourselves for this journey, we proceed to slowly disarm ourselves and our theatre, so that, in a few years time, we may return home to Kalendegatan as a changed We to a changed Home. A home that will include even more visitors and remind us all of what theatre truly is - a public right!