Moxie’s been proud to have been working with Orpheus Choir Wellington, New Zealand’s leading symphonic choir, since 2019. Our priority was to rebrand the choir to position it at the heart of the contemporary performing arts community in NZ and give the choir the platform it sought to achieve greater reach and engagement. We launched the new brand and website in December of that year.
At that point, Orpheus was all set for a massive 2020. We created a stunning visual identity for the 2020 season on the back of the new brand position. Everyone was excited, upbeat and raring to go. Then the wheels fell off. Who’d have thought the pandemic was waiting in the wings, ready to upstage all the careful planning and become the main event?
But, to continue the theatrical metaphor, the show must go on in whatever way possible. Orpheus took advantage of every opportunity to perform — it’s what choirs do after all — and gave some memorable concerts, even if they weren’t always the publicised ones.
For all performing arts organisations, the last two years have been more of a Danse Macabre (dance with death) than even Saint Saëns would have imagined in his famous tone poem as plans evolved and new performance normals were agonised over. Recalibration became the new black for frustrated arts administrators and management everywhere. Hearts broke, and dreams died. It’s a world of pain.
In the highly competitive performing arts world, the number of live events to choose from can be overwhelming. Design plays a significant role in attracting attention and helping people choose one event over another. Good publicity graphics grab attention and ask people to look deeper. They also help shape how the overall brand is perceived in the minds of audiences. Orpheus’s brand promise is that every performance the choir presents is unmissable, irrespective of repertoire. In other words, every performance will offer the mighty experience only a large and highly polished choir can deliver. Individual seasons and concerts are promoted on the back of that core brand promise.
Moxie has worked with the Orpheus team to create publicity materials for each season that capture the emotional impact of the works being presented. They also aim to convey a feeling of excellence and professionalism, reinforcing the reputation of the performers.
While great design is not the be-all and end-all in why people attend particular events, it undoubtedly plays a significant role in getting a larger number of ‘bums on seats’ and keeping events financially viable.
Now we’re holding our collective breaths to see what 2022 has in store for the arts. Now that Omicron has entered stage left, you’d have to say it all bets are off! At the arts' feast, even the most incredible graphics can’t banish this COVID spectre.