This year marks a milestone for us at Design Is Yummy— our 10th season collaborating with the Segal Centre for Performing Arts!
Over the past decade, we’ve had the privilege of designing production graphics for Montreal's premiere English-language theatre. Each new season brings a fresh slate of stories, and with it, a creative challenge: how do you capture the energy of live performance in a single image, and build a full campaign that not only entices new audiences, but also reflects the magic of theatre itself?
With over 65,000 visitors annually, the Segal Centre is a cultural landmark in the heart of Montreal. Our role is to craft visuals that feel as compelling on a digital screen as they do in the hands of a potential theatre-goer, while also standing as a cohesive, branded campaign across dozens of shows and marketing touchpoints. It's no small feat to align the artistic visions of various production companies under one bold visual umbrella, but it’s a challenge we’ve come to love.
A Season Designed to Say: Streaming Could Never
For the Segal Centre’s 2025–26 season, we leaned into a retro-inspired visual identity, infused with rich jewel tones, bold typographic shapes, and a vibrant sense of nostalgia. Each production graphic was crafted to stand strong on its own, while working together as part of a larger, unified campaign. Framed in punchy shapes and full of character, the season’s visuals bring warmth, drama, and playfulness to every corner of the Segal.
The campaign tagline, “Streaming Could Never,” sets the tone, reminding us that there’s nothing like the immediacy and intimacy of live theatre. At the heart of the campaign is a hero image: a young woman seated in a darkened theatre, bathed in the glow of the stage. She’s framed by the Segal Centre’s distinctive logo shape, the light dancing across her face in a moment of awe. It’s a celebration of connection, and of the shared emotional experience that no screen can replicate.
From Pitches to Posters
Every season begins the same way: with dozens of sketches that explore tone, composition, and story. These rough concepts are where the campaign’s visual language first takes shape, giving us and the Segal team a chance to explore directions before committing to a final look. It’s in this messy, generative stage that the seeds of each year’s ideas are planted.
Fun fact: While most major theatres have an average timeline of 18-months to roll out a season, we typically work with a 3-month window from the kick off meeting to the final file delivery. It’s an ambitious pace, but one that reflects our close, long-standing collaboration with the Segal Centre team.
Ten Years In, and Still Just Getting Started
Looking back on a decade of collaboration, we’re proud of the creative risks we’ve taken, the stories we’ve helped convey, and the audiences we’ve helped bring into the theatre.
Live performance is intimate, raw, and alive, and we believe the visual identity of a season should feel the same. From high drama to heartfelt comedy, from dancers in motion to boxes mid-fall, this year’s visuals are all about capturing attention.
