Even successful brands with an ardent following and consistent growth need regular attention and clarification. The Arts Club Theatre Company is a case in point.

For the 2011-2012 Season the legendary Vancouver theatre company introduced an updated logo and brand identity system to help clarify a few misconceptions about what the Arts Club actually is.

For over four decades The Arts Club has been a bastion for the theatre community in Vancouver and has grown into the largest theatre group in Western Canada. With this growth has come an increase in the number of venues that Arts Club shows play on—up to three in 2010. For many years the company has made their home on Granville Island, and so, for many the Granville Island Stage became known as the Arts Club Theatre. To clarify that the Arts Club is the name of the company, and that they stage productions at three independent venues (Stanley Theatre, Granville Island Stage, and the Revue Stage) a change to the existing branding was necessary.

Original logo and revised logo with new tagline:

The updated logo would retain the highly recognizable ‘A in spotlight’ motif created by Demo Graphic nearly a decade ago, but would now emphasize the wordmark “ARTSCLUB”, and eliminate the words “THEATRE COMPANY”. This in combination with a new tagline: “ALIVE ON THREE STAGES” makes perfectly clear that the Arts Club is a multi-venue theatre company.

To help take the clarification further the new brand identity system applies the names of all three venues consistently in all promotional materials. Even when advertising a specific show playing at a single venue, a graphic device at the bottom of the ad includes all three venues, and then highlights which one the show is playing at.

Just completed is a bold new package design for the ever popular Latitude 50 brand from the Okanagan in British Columbia.

The “L50″ Red, White, and Rose are marketed as value wines with quality that surpasses their price point. This highly competitive market segment is all about fun and flavour, and so, the new L50 package makes no bones about it’s bold nature. It will look different than anything presently on the shelves—no small achievement considering the explosion in innovative wine packaging in recent years.

The design is now complete, and in the can (or in the bottle, if you like), but as vintages are vintages, you won’t see it on the shelves until after it’s launch in late 2012.

But look for a sneak peak of the new package to be published here soon!

Posters with provocative headlines encouraging under-35ers to vote covered the downtown in the last few days running up to Vancouver’s mayoral election on November 19. This spontaneous, guerrilla-style campaign included street teams distributing handbills and buttons, as well as, a strong push online by influential vancouver-based bloggers and websites.

A few ‘younger’ business owners (including Burnkit, Demo Graphic, and Vancouver Is Awesome) were concerned about the complete lack of an under-35 voter turnout and wanted to speak in a tone that would grab their attention. Young Vancouverites, although passionate about their city, tend to be apathetic about elections. We wanted to call them out, stir discussion, and ultimately get more of them involved.

When interviewed by the Vancouver Sun, Josh Dunford, key contributor to Demo Graphic and founder of Burnkit spoke for all involved when he said, “Lots of people complain about politics in Van, but there’s not that many chances to act. It’s a bit ironic that people can be so vocal, yet not use those moments when we can actually make our voices heard.”

The election resulted in the more progressive candidates taking the mayorship and a clean sweep of the council positions. The majority of younger voters share values with these candidates, and although unsubstantiated by polling, you can postulate that most voted for the winning candidates. So, did our little campaign put some candidates over the top and contribute to a clean sweep? We could vote on it, but I’m waiting for my macchiato.

Demo Graphic has proudly called the Gastown area home for a decade. Principals Sharon Martyniuk and Dylan Staniul literally lived, worked and played there during much of that time and experienced its transformation from tourist trap into Vancouver’s most dynamic neighbourhood. Gastown is now home to many of the city’s best restaurants, bars, clubs and boutiques—so why not the city’s best coffee shop?

Now it is. No doubt, Gastown had coffee before, but Milano Coffee’s new location at 36 Powell Street raises Gastown’s coffee game up to the level of it’s other gastronomic offerings. Milano Coffee brings it’s prized traditional Italian recipes and innovative blends to a neighbourhood where people appreciate the new and old mixed together.

With multiple espresso’s to try ‘on tap’ each day there’s an impressive array of styles and flavours to experience. So what the Alibi Room has done for beer, or what Boneta has done for dining, Milano does for coffee.

Raw concrete, gleaming stainless, graphics including bold typography, and backlit photography fit the neighbourhood’s aesthetic. Gastown is all about independent businesses, so clientele expect an obvious sense of style, but aren’t appreciative of branding that’s in your face. A few loose ends are ok and, perhaps, even preferred.