Toronto Fringe Festival — X and Da Spirit
At Toronto Fringe Festival, we worked closely with the production team of X and Da Spirit and organization Not Another Black Life, which is a community that supports the families victimized by police violence. Through this collaboration, not only we were able to inspire regular patrons of Toronto Fringe to take action, but also be able to soothe the victim’s families by letting them know that we will continue to say their names and they're not forgotten. How does radical Black art communicate the knowledge of Black resistance to a new generation of activists? How do we to create a brand identity for the play that pays homage to movements such as the Black Freedom movement, as well as Black Lives Matter without sensationalizing or using it to leverage the production?
art direction
graphic design & branding
social media management
project overview //
- Logo Design
- Official Colours
- Style & Typography Guide
- Process
- Results
Design research consisted of looking into the main source material for the production, which is the Black Lives Matter movement during 2020. We went ahead and looked further down the Black Freedom movement of the 50s and 60s, to movie posters in the 80s. I was inspired by graffiti, silk screen prints and thus created the overall look and feel that matches the tone of the play. Through this, we created a brand identity starting with a logo and a colour palette that will serve as a roadmap on how we are presenting the play during the festival.
To maximize the exposure, posters were strategically placed near Native Earth's Aki Studio as well as libraries, grocery stores and community centres across east and west ends of Toronto.
As for analyzing on how to market this play, we did not want to sensationalize the issue as well as use the movement to leverage it. To preserve the play’s authenticity, we teamed up with local organization Not Another Black Life, which is a community that supports the families victimized by police violence. Through this collaboration, not only we were able to inspire regular patrons of Toronto Fringe, but also be able to soothe the victim’s families by letting them know that we will continue to say their names.
We used Instagram (@xanddaspirit) as our main tool to connect with patrons of Fringe, local artists, journalists as well as people who live near the play's venue. We started a 3-week campaign that showcases the play through snippets, behind the scenes, while keeping a consistent brand identity and tone through illustrative elements.
Throughout the campaign, the public’s response to the play and social media was overwhelmingly positive. Despite the various showtimes, we were able to sell out tickets consistently.
Over the course of our 3-week Instagram campaign, we have accomplished a lot especially for a small and new account for the production. It has landed us a review on:
Broadway World
Intermission Magazine
Now Playing Toronto
The Toronto Star
. . . and an interview with CBC's Metro Morning with Ismaila Alfa. Because of our consistent brand identity and unified presence, the play was awarded as the Patron's Pick of Toronto Fringe.
1,200+
patrons enjoyed the play
98%
tickets sales sold
80k
unique accounts reached
165k
total impressions on social
Credits —
art direction
design & branding
social media management
Jan Cruz
production director
Rais Clarke-Mendes
Brendan Howlett
playwright
Donovan Hayden