ORDWAY CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS

The Ordway is one of the U.S.’s leading not-for-profit performing arts centers, and a staple of the Twin Cities arts community. Working directly with their director and marketing team was an amazing experience, and the projects that we completed furthered the theater’s legacy of excellence in the performing arts. From event branding to template design, each campaign allowed me to wear many hats, usually starting with the very initial concepting of the campaign through to the final print production of materials.

THE ANNUAL SPRING FÊTE

Every year, the Ordway hosts a Spring Fête in line with the theme of the spring musical, this year being 42st Street. The lyric that was repeated throughout this campaign was “Come and hear the lullaby of Broadway”, and we wanted a design that invoked the Golden Age of Broadway — Art Deco-inspired patterns, shimmering accents, and the glamour of a golden era, complete with design elements that played off the New York state of mind.

I led the design of this entire event, from the initial mood board pitches all the way to the execution of photo backdrops and website headers. An entire brand was built for this event, including stationary, a website, invitations, print and digital ads, programs, and even VIP passes for the main event.

Champagne was popped, jazz was played, and most importantly, this year, more than $555,000 was raised in support of Ordway arts education initiatives and the Arts Partnership Fund.

MOODBOARDS + CONCEPTING

EVENT ASSETS

BROADWAY AT THE ORDWAY: THE 19|20 SEASON

Bringing quality theater to their audience is something the Ordway does best, and this year, their goal was to bring the essence of Broadway directly to their main stage. Literally. Most of the shows they planned are coming to St. Paul right from New York, no stops along the way. It’s a season of theater with a mission — a season that focused on powerful messages and vibrant storytelling — which meant a design that was a complete departure from their usual design style. My job? Designing a season campaign from the ground up that encapsulated this theme of multiple stories — a stand-up show to a retelling of a classic fairytale — coming together in bits and pieces to create a season like no other.

 PRINT PROGRAMS

A program is a large part of what the theatre experience is for the audience — it’s a way to learn more about the cast and crew, an inside look into what goes on behind the scenes, and a tangible piece of the show to bring home after the lights come up. We designed all the programs for the Ordway, from the musicals direct from Broadway to the local musicians’ series. My favorite series to design was the Movement & Music Series, some of which I have featured below. This series brought artists from all over the world, and it was a joy and a challenge to capture the essence of their performances in just one spread of a program.