NB Studio's new look for London's Almeida Theatre is very impressive

It’s often the case with design work that the final outcome is quite different in scope to the original brief. So it was for NB Studio, which was originally asked by the Almeida Theatre in London for a brand review and refresh. After what the studio calls “an intensive period of immersion and briefing sessions,” the NB team came back with a more wide-ranging proposal – “It was clear then that this was to be a bold re-brand rather than mere cosmetic enhancement,” they say.

The new look and feel is designed to reflect the theatre’s “boldness of purpose, contemporary relevance and ambition to challenge and question theatre” and from the stationery to promotional posters and even the external signage on the building itself, NB appears to have nailed it. In the wrong hands the idea of provocative design can be fairly cringeworthy, with clumsy attempts at visual iconoclasm that leave viewers feeling cold, bewildered or both. But NB has managed to create a solution that feels fresh and exciting without being jarring for the sake of it.