Pentagram's slick, colourful Queens Theatre identity

Pitting black and white photography against block colour, Pentagram’s new identity work for Queens Theatre in New York is slick, bright and strong; with as much vibrancy and grace as the performers that tread the venue’s boards. Designed by Paula Scher, the identity is based around a logo created from simple, geometric shapes alluding to the theatre’s architecture; which can be pulled apart and rearranged across various different applications to demonstrate the theatre’s broad and diverse programming, and appeal to an equally diverse audience.

Looking to unite the architectural influences with a sense of dynamism, Paula took the circle and rectangle shapes to form the letter Q of the name, with each shape acting as a holding device for monochrome imagery from the theatre. As such, there are multifarious possibilities for the marque, taking on a different feel in green, yellow, orange and blue as it showcases some striking photography. “The theatre needed a contemporary design that would not be complicated to execute,” says Paula. “By making the logo the housing for photography, it simplified choices. Most of the design decisions enabled them to get a big impact out of a limited budget.”

The colours each correspond to a different type of performance: blue for dance, red for theatre, yellow for comedy, and green for family productions; and Paula created a vertical word mark using the Founders Grotesk typeface, keeping things bold, legible and instantly recognisable.