ABC Arts undergoes rebranding via Boccalatte

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation engaged Boccalatte to develop a new brand, identity and website for its ABC Arts brand, which launched on Friday.

The national broadcaster has undertaken the rebrand to further develop its arts audience and create new access points for a younger demographic and the ABC Arts’ die-hard followers. ABC Arts is the umbrella brand for the presentation of the very best arts content from across Australian and the ABC on TV, Online and Radio.

Sydney-based brand and visual communications studio Boccalatte, were invited to oversee the project based on their reputation for award winning work in the arts and cultural sector.

The brand strategy devised by Boccalatte centered on leveraging ABC Arts’ breadth and heritage, to position the brand  as Australia’s largest cultural institution, taking ownership of the very word ‘Arts’ in this country.

From this followed a web strategy which sees ABC Arts’ new site, also designed by Boccalatte, becoming a truly responsive website within the ABC’s online presence. The new site breaks down the arts genres, and media type silos to allow users to immerse themselves in the wealth of ABC Arts’ content.

A crucial element of the repositioning is the creation for a new identity for ABC Arts. The solution crafted by Boccalatte is a typographic logo, which builds on the bold, expressive serif font, Bodoni and its association with fashion and luxury. The mark employs a simple, black and white palette to give a strong, uncluttered presence, which does not compete with the artistic work dominating the content.

Suzanne Boccalatte, creative director and founder of Boccalatte, says the opportunity to redefine the ABC’s arts brand, was a significant task.

Says Boccalatte: “ABC Arts inspires a great deal of passion from loyalists. I’ve been involved in arts and culture most of my professional life and those within this world hold ABC Arts in high esteem, so it was an honour to be asked to deliver this for the ABC. Redefining this brand is a real opportunity to open it up to a great deal more people, and helping to bring quality arts content to more people is something I cannot help but be passionate about.”

Katrina Sedgwick, head of arts, ABC Television, is also excited about where the strategic and creative work from Boccalatte will take the brand.

Says Sedgwick: “For anyone with any level or interest in arts and culture, ABC Arts has long been synonymous with diverse, quality content. With this strategy, we intend to cement and grow that position, making ABC Arts the go-to destination for arts in Australia and opening it up to much bigger audience. What we have now is a brand for the future.”