The Drop-In

2021-Present

Long Center’s free, outdoor music series featuring Austin’s upcoming and local talent with a laidback & home-grown energy

Project Duties:

Art Direction & Design
Marketing Materials (digital + print)
Sales Collateral
Vendor Management

Vision

Something new but familiar

Embody the home-grown, backyard casual of free outdoor music in Austin. A fresh take on a long-lived tradition – Shady Groves a new off-the-cuff haunt where Austin’s favorite local artists can ‘drop in’ and keep live music alive. Show the community a side of the Long Center that breaks away from the stuffy performing arts center stigma. Additionally, brand build for longevity as a new, ongoing series.

Challenges

High risk, high reward

The Drop-In was a new concept and product for the Long Center launched mid-pandemic. New audience acquisition was ciritical and marketing the series required team cross-collaboration and agility within the strategy.

Outcome

Throw back and laid back

A built-to-last brand that could flexibly recombine brand colors and still allow for brand iteration and exploration. Knowing this was a reoccurring series, I wanted to create something that didn’t lose its luster after one series but distinct enough for immediate recognition. It was also critical to create not just a brand look but an emblem that translated will to single-color uses as a bug on PR and marketing materials. The archway was key in these transformations – from its retro illustration roots into a portal in photo treatments and echoing wave form in the emblem.