Art is in Session
The ultra-charming Old School House Arts Centre in the heart of Qualicum Beach village is a local icon, in both structure and function. Operating out of a historic yellow heritage building in the center of town, The Old School House has been gathering people in the name of art, culture, and music for decades, in their resident artist studios, exhibition spaces and classrooms. With changing local demographics, their team felt it was time to refresh their branding in order to welcome, include, and inspire the wider community and visitors alike. The Old School House team believes that art unites; that it elevates life. They believe it can and should be part of the everyday, and they needed their rebrand to reflect that.
The Challenge
Through our discovery process, we uncovered how crucial it was to pay homage to the past, while embracing the future with open arms. It was also essential to ensure that all members of the community, as well as visitors, felt welcome to walk in anytime, wander around, ask questions, and get involved. We needed to highlight their progressive leadership position in the industry, as well as engage current and future members and donors, helping secure support now and in the future. We sought to warm everything up, make it playful, channel their welcoming vibe, and build a foundation that feels true; one that can carry them forward into the future.
Start With Strategy
The success of the brand identity hinged on a skillful meshing of language and visuals, and we were thrilled as always to collaborate with our friends at Clever Jane to do so. From the tagline, to the brand promise, positioning statement, primary messaging and brand pillars, the brand messaging for The Old School House uses language and tone to juxtapose the old and the new. We ran with the school house theme, adding a tongue-in-cheek spin to embody the spirit of the place, and make things feel light and fun. By integrating welcoming, playful pieces of writing with clear, engaging copy, their team has an arsenal of branded, targeted, consistent messaging they can use on their website, socials, marketing materials, in their recruitment and training, wayfinding, merch and more.
Art Elevates Life
By strategically applying the language together with their new visual identity, colour scheme, vintage photography, and print treatments, The Old School House now has a cohesive brand system that will offer a platform for their work for years to come. We were thrilled to help this hard working, dedicated group of creatives reach new audiences and spread their love of art far and wide.
“The Old School House welcomes art-lovers, artists, looky-loos, dilly-dalliers, and everyone in
between.”
A Majorette and Clever Jane Collaboration
A Special Thanks To
THE OLD SCHOOL HOUSE — theoldschoolhouse.org
MAJORETTE — brand messaging & strategy
Marget Milne & Elizabeth Hewitt
CLEVER JANE — art direction, strategy, identity design, print & content design
Liz Parsons & Emily Kiana