Manchester establishment, Band on the Wall, has been at the centre of the city's music and cultural scene for two centuries. The national lockdown had hit music venues hard but in August 2020, just as some restrictions were being lifted, the iconic music venue decided to temporarily close as long-planned renovation works were brought forward. Finally, after 20 long months, the venue's doors are open again and the music has resumed. While the building has undergone extensive renovations, Manchester-based Instruct Studio have given the whole visual identity a refresh. We spoke with them to find out a little more about the project and the pressures of rebranding such an iconic establishment.
Firstly, could you just tell me a little about the brief?
As part of Band on the Wall's £3.5 million expansion, we worked with the team to create a new visual identity, brand strategy and website to welcome a new chapter in this iconic venue’s story. For over 200 years, this renowned venue has been embedded in the heart of the city's music and cultural DNA. This reimagining of the space gave us a perfect opportunity to show people what we're about, and set out a vision for the venue's future. With a passion for the music and cultural scene of our home city, and as avid gig-goers, we’ve spent many a night dancing with pals in the venue. For us, this was a perfect brief to get our teeth into.
We aimed to create a flexible visual system that's able to adapt to various outputs from flyposters to animation
How did you approach rebranding this iconic Manchester establishment?
Band on the Wall is much more than a music venue. So, we started by gaining insights from across the organisation on what the venue means to them. This understanding formed the purpose and values that drove our design process.
A brand is always much more than a logo; it’s composed of many elements. We aimed to create a flexible visual system that's able to adapt to various outputs from flyposters to animation.
A strong, dynamic typeface is essential for communicating our story. We felt F37's Stout - based on an old American letterpress font - with its unusual letterforms that have been lovingly digitised and crafted by the foundry, was a perfect fit. Using Stout as our headline type felt like a little nod to some of the legendary posters in the venue’s archive, as well as being able to pack a punch across multiple formats.
We also developed an arch framing device inspired by the multiple archways that appear across the building's facade. The arch, whilst representing an opening, invites the audience to experience and explore artists from all over the world. This allowed us to frame imagery and graphics within.
How did you find starting this project at the height of lockdown?
As a purposely small studio, we're pretty agile and were able to adapt quickly to working remotely. In this case, we were fortunate enough to present our ideas in person with the team after lockdown. We also visited the site throughout the project to see how things were progressing.
Band on the Wall has been a cornerstone of Manchester's music landscape for a long time
How important do you think it is to still be creating physical work at a time when so many campaigns are now solely digital?
Band on the Wall has been a cornerstone of Manchester's music landscape for a long time. It’s paramount that we uphold that important relationship with our city by promoting it physically within it. Posters make up the fabric of a city’s identity. Therefore, we can use them to both celebrate the wealth of global talent that wants to come and play here, and promote our local emerging artists as well.
A long time in the development, what are you most looking forward to about the project finally going live and the BOTW reopening?
Band on the Wall has a stellar lineup of gigs coming up, with artists from all over the world! We’re really looking forward to seeing the likes of Ibibio Sound Machine, and Emma-Jean Thackray, play in the reimagined venue. As well as relishing the prospect of enjoying a couple of pints with the wonderful Band on the Wall team in the new cafe bar space!
Keep an eye out around the city for the new posters. We can’t wait to visit the new and improved Band on the Wall - see you at the bar.
Instruct Studio
Band on the wall
Comments