The Royal Danish Theatre
- Client The Royal Danish Theatre
- Project Visual Identity
- Year 2005-
Reinventing Tradition
The Royal Danish Theatre is going through changes. Old stages are closing and new ones being built. The theatre faces a challenge in communicating coherence between the different scenes and art
forms that the theatre represents, as well as conveying that the Royal Theatre is both a modern theatre and a theatre of traditions at the same time.
In this context, e-Types created a new visual identity for the theatre. An identity bringing coherence to innovation and
tradition and helping the theatre face the challenges of the new millennium.
"It's about the Royal Theatre not being physically situated under one roof any longer. It poses new challenges to the theater's communication. Because of that it was important that we did not just create "ornament", but that we got to the bottom of the theatre's essence, and created a brand strategy and an identity that generate coherence, recognisability and vision. The Royal Theatre is a brand which people must be able to recognize. The new visual identity combines all the art forms clearly and sets a new standard for what you can expect of the Royal Theatre,"
says Jens Kajus, partner and Creative Director in e-Types.
The new brand strategy was anchored in a series of interviews and workshops that probed the theatre's culture, values and image
- a strategic phase which led to the creation of the framework and the foundation for the new design and identity programme. At the same time extensive research into the public´s perception of
the theatre was done allowing e-Types to adjust and innovate, highlighting the good while eliminating the bad.
The visual identity was launched in 2005.
The Crown
The cornerstone of the design programme is a new and stylized crown, which shows the Royal Theatre's historic relationship to the Royal Family. Just as theatre in its artistic practise must challenge traditional ways of thinking and performing, the new specially designed crown challenges the conventional understanding of what a crown is supposed to look like. The crown has been emancipated from the monogram, and now functions as an active element in different contexts, serving as an identifying marker across the whole organisation.
The typeface
The specially designed typeface, DKT, has reference to the classical Egyptienne typefaces and spans from dogmatic and loud to elegant and refined. In its expression it has a humane element - small details are slightly tilted or off - creating personality, warmth and humour. By virtue of its different values, the font can span both very classical and very modern expressions. This way it captures the diversity of the theatre's art forms and activities.
The beam system
The transverse beam system is another pivotal point in the design programme and the integration of the different departments in the Royal Theatre. The Royal Theatre's various departments are represented by beams differing in thickness and placement. Together with the specially designed typeface, the beam system creates flexibility making it possible to communicate the Royal Theatre as an institution as well as a brand together with the individual performance, subdivision or locality.
The Crown
The cornerstone of the design programme is a new and stylized crown, which shows the Royal Theatre's historic relationship to the Royal Family. Just as theatre in its artistic practise must challenge traditional ways of thinking and performing, the new specially designed crown challenges the conventional understanding of what a crown is supposed to look like. The crown has been emancipated from the monogram, and now functions as an active element in different contexts, serving as an identifying marker across the whole organisation.
The typeface
The specially designed typeface, DKT, has reference to the classical Egyptienne typefaces and spans from dogmatic and loud to elegant and refined. In its expression it has a humane element - small details are slightly tilted or off - creating personality, warmth and humour. By virtue of its different values, the font can span both very classical and very modern expressions. This way it captures the diversity of the theatre's art forms and activities.
The beam system
The transverse beam system is another pivotal point in the design programme and the integration of the different departments in the Royal Theatre. The Royal Theatre's various departments are represented by beams differing in thickness and placement. Together with the specially designed typeface, the beam system creates flexibility making it possible to communicate the Royal Theatre as an institution as well as a brand together with the individual performance, subdivision or locality.
