Segal Centre 2023-24 Season

With over 65,000 visitors a year, the Segal Centre for Performing Arts is a choice destination amongst Montreal theatre goers.

PRODUCTION GRAPHICS

For the past 8 years, Design Is Yummy has been collaborating with the Segal Centre to create eye-catching season graphics to promote their theatre season. These designs are used in marketing campaigns year-round to attract viewers of all ages to experience transformative live productions.

Over the course of our many collabs, we’ve slowly evolved the Segal’s graphic style to build a cohesive visual identity that represents each unique play while feeling undeniably ‘Segal.’ As the heart of English theatre in Montreal, it was imperative for their graphics to speak a different visual language than other theatres in the region to create a clear mark. The visual evolution took place incrementally so that regular patrons would not feel alienated while we sought to draw in new audiences. The cornerstones of their identity consists of: bright, bold colours, unified bold typography (where possible), and a focus on a single, engaging, photographic image.

The 2023-2024 season consists of bold graphics and a carefully curated colour palette to complement each production. Since the production graphics are placed on the facade of the Segal’s building, on exterior billboards and posters sprawled throughout the city, consideration was given to the show dates to ensure the poster colours would stand out well during the four seasons. The graphics are adapted to web, and digital media and therefore were designed with adaptability in mind as well.

A simple yet effective sans-serif typeface is paired with each poster to create a cohesive look, while each production can also live independently from each other. Textural elements were also included to add visual interest and detail.

Segal season graphic shown as a full page ad in the newspaper

CAMPAIGN GRAPHIC

We created a unifying campaign graphic for use when advertising the complete season. This year, Segal wanted to highlight the idea of having world-class theatre be accessible. The season was aptly coined ‘kind of a big deal!’

BEAUTIFUL

The first production of the season is Beautiful: a Carole King Musical. Beautiful tells the story of singer song-writer Carole King’s journey from young, aspiring musician to stardom and her various upheavals along the way.

For this play, the Segal Centre had been provided with strict brand guidelines which included colour and title assets. Our challenge was to work within the framework provided while maintaining the Segal’s signature style and creating a design that would blend with the rest of the season. With only a headshot for the feature actress Tess Berger, we used our creative magic (our own photography and creating a custom illustrated pattern of Carole’s iconic blue dress) to create an image fitting of this influential musician.

Montreal bus shelter featuring a poster of Boy Falls from the Sky

BOY FALLS FROM SKY

Boy Falls from Sky is a one-man show by Jake Epstein— a well-known and beloved Canadian actor who got his start on Degrassi. Through a series of stories and songs, Jake shares a showbiz tell-all of both success, failures, and everything in-between. We wanted the poster to reflect the realness of the production. The background and Jake’s expression give off a dreamy, thoughtful air, while the New York skyline makes reference to broadway and Jake Epstein’s upbringing. The result is a graphic that feels hopeful and grounded at the same time.

FIFTEEN DOGS

Fifteen Dogs is based on the Giller^® Prize-winning novel by André Alexis. The novel tells the story of a time when Hermes and Apollo make a bet over a beer and grant fifteen dogs the gift of human consciousness. Through this story, the dogs explore freedom, identity, language and loyalty as they struggle to meld their new intelligence with their innate animal nature.

This play was the most challenging to visually represent of the season. The story is both comedic while tackling some very difficult themes (morality and what it means to be human). We also had to be clear that this was a serious play for adult audiences only and did not feature any real dogs. After much brainstorming, we devised a central image of a dog melded with a human. The breed of dog (a Neopolitan) references the character of Atticus, the pack’s initial leader. The dog has a philosophical expression and is posed in a way which suggests deep thought. The old-fashioned outfit contrasts with the outright ridiculousness of the dog wearing it, building the right amount of curious tension to fit the play.

The forest background hints at the wild, animalistic side of the story, while also references the main setting of a park. The olive green background is a subtle reference to the Greek mythology which the play is centered around. The entire poster is a juxtaposition between symbols of humanity and civilization versus pure animal instinct.

POTUS

The final production of the season is POTUS: or Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive. After the President turns a PR incident into a global crisis, seven women tied to the White House are left scrambling to clean up his mess as everything around them gets increasingly more outrageous.

The Segal wanted POTUS’ poster to scream slapstick comedy. The central image is a woman wearing an expression of both confusion and exasperation, a stand-in for the multiple female characters who star in the play. Despite the White House setting, the play is an ode to any woman in any field who has had to suffer beneath an incompetent boss, so we decided to keep the political undertones light and keep the focus on her expression. The typewriter font references old punk posters (particularly riot girl aesthetic).

The bold pink background is both feminine and powerful, vibrant and aggressively bold. The image of the White House suggests the play’s setting, while the official looking image contrasts with the more playful elements of the poster.