The Rhodes Ahead – Royston Simpson Creative give Arts and Business Venue a New Look

In a bid to bring its lively blend of arts and entertainment to a wider public, Rhodes Centre, Bishop’s Stortford, has unveiled a striking new corporate identity for the complex, transforming everything from signage to stationery.

The new identity is designed to reflect the many activities and facilities that are available at Rhodes – including theatre, music, dance, education, art, conferencing and the Bishop’s Stortford Museum.  Each individual coloured square of the logo therefore represents a different ‘sub-brand’.  The Bishop’s Stortford Museum has been given a strong identity of its own, which still positions it firmly as part of the Rhodes brand.

In addition to the new logo, the agency wrote a new strapline “Where it all happens” and has dropped the use of the words Arts Complex.

“We undertook research locally and with our existing customers and discovered that an overwhelming majority of those questioned strongly identified with the name ‘Rhodes’,” says Marketing Officer, Charlotte Pritchard.

“We therefore felt confident that we could drop the additional words.  Our new strapline reflects the uniqueness of our venue – there is nowhere else in this region that has so much going on under one roof.”

Rhodes Chairman Cllr Philip Demonti added, “Our new corporate identity is modern and contemporary and firmly positions us as an exciting, forward looking venue.  We are operating in a very competitive environment and it’s vital that we evolve to keep pace.”

Speaking for the agency, Managing Director Richard Taylor says “our objective has been to position Rhodes as a modern, fresh and stimulating destination by creating an identity which captures the ‘buzz’ of centre whilst at the same time communicating the breadth of the offer afforded by the venue.

“This led to the development of a modular design which is both strong in itself, whilst being versatile enough to be adapted for promoting the individual areas of activity”.

The redesign programme, which Royston Simpson Creative won in a competitive three-way pitch with other major regional agencies, includes new internal and external signage, outdoor and press advertising, business stationery and the creation of a corporate identity manual.