Irvington Theater identity

First opened in 1902, Irvington Theater has become one of the cultural hearts of the Hudson Rivertowns. In 2019 the theater commission built new ambitions for their programming. The aim became to showcase the diverse range and wealth of events produced by the theater and their artistic partners, revitalize and centralize their brand identity in a way that could be executed by their newly assembled internal team.

The new brand identity designed by Andrea Trabucco-Campos and Pràctica Design should capture the cultural energy flowing through the theater: inspired by the visual language of 19th century playbills and theater ephemera, the system is based on two main elements: 1. The layering and stacking of elements and colors, giving a sense of the passage of time and a continuity in the output of the theater. 2. The use of vernacular typography, acting as a metaphor for the diversity of the programme as well as the varied cultural personalities passing through Irvington Theater.

Besides the custom drawn typeface Irvington Modern Gothic (based on Modern Gothic by Barnhart Brothers & Spindler, 1897) the abundant typographic palette joins a dozen of typefaces by The Pyte Foundry with David Jonathan Ross’ Roslindale, Nickel Gothic and Rhody (all issued through the infamous Font of the Month Club) as well as Roba by Franziska Weitgruber and Blitz by Out of the Dark.

Since the identity’s launch in 2019, the pantheon of typefaces in use has been constantly expanded in tune with the theater’s aim for diversity and change, dynamically reacting to the current programming.