The Public Theater Identity Honored by the Art Directors Club

Fifteen years of our work for the Public Theater in 45 seconds.

Last night at its annual gala, the Art Directors Club honored our work for the Public Theater with the ADC Design Sphere Cube, a new award that recognizes a longstanding collaboration between designer and client on a brand identity that has been consistently and energetically expressed and that has excited the public’s imagination along the way.

In 1994, Paula Scher was commissioned to create a new identity and promotional graphics system for The Public Theater, a program that would become a landmark of identity design, eventually influencing much of the graphic design created for theatrical promotion and for cultural institutions in general. Scher has worked closely with George C. Wolfe, the Public’s producer from 1993 to 2005, and with Oskar Eustis, its current artistic director, on the development of posters, ads and distinct identities for each new season and its major productions. Applications have ranged from signage to mailers, from tickets to billboards, and Scher’s Shakespeare in the Park campaigns have become a seasonal tradition in the city. The identity has evolved through two redesigns, in 2005 and 2008.

We were asked to put together a brief (less than one minute) video for the awards ceremony, and we managed to squeeze 15 years of work, in all its varied incarnations, into a mere 45 seconds. Seen are over 300 pieces, and there is more to come—this summer’s Shakespeare in the Park campaign launches in a few short weeks, and the Public Theater has just announced the renovation of its building, for which Scher will be designing the environmental graphics.

More news of additional ADC winners coming soon!

Previously: The Public Theater Identity