Case study

To demonstrate the transformation of the heritage building into a contemporary art space Headjam incorporated a fluro orange colour in the design for Lock Up new brand logo and identity. The brand identity was then carried across a responsive website, EDM's and a series of social media assets. Posters were designed to double as invitations using a custom fold, printed in cost effective black and white with the fluro orange graphic added as an overlay. Read Hide the full case study

Background

The Lock-up is a multidisciplinary contemporary arts space and inner city hub for creative thinking and doing located in one of Newcastle’s most significant heritage buildings, that once housed the local police station and overnight holding cells that are still part of the gallery space.

The Lock-up's program includes contemporary art exhibitions, events, site-specific installation and performances, residencies, creative talks, workshops and a variety of activities designed to engage the arts community and the public and to encourage the sharing of ideas and creative vision.

The Lock-up hosts a nationally recognised Artist in Residence (AIR) program that provides onsite accommodation, work environment and community engagement opportunities for contemporary artists working across a broad range of disciplines.

Headjam have been collaborating with The Lock-up since 2008, and in 2014 were the creative agency appointed to execute the rebranding and redevelopment of all associated communication tools with the goal of enhancing the promotion of events, and knowledge exchange with both the local and national art communities.

Objective

In 2013 The Lock-up closed its doors to re-brand and re-develop its programming from the ground up.

The objective of the re-brand was to raise awareness of The Lock-up’s curation of great contemporary art, and to develop a national presence for the organisation via peer-to-peer communication.

Target Audience

The target audience for The Lock-up's re-brand was Newcastle based contemporary art lovers, national and international contemporary artists and philanthropists, and funding bodies such as Arts NSW.

Consumer Proposition

A consumer value proposition was developed to ensure everything produced generated a consistent point of difference for visitors. The proposition, "contemporary story telling through immersion" was created to articulate the vision of The Lock-up.

Desired Consumer Response

Headjam’s goal for the rebrand was to inspire audiences to see The Lock-up as a beacon for contemporary arts within the Newcastle and Hunter region.

Creative Solution

Headjam's creative solution to this challenge was to develop a series of materials that provide the viewer with an immersive experience that communicates a rich sense of what is happening at The Lock-up and which engages audiences in the age of short attention spans.

We didn't want to give too much away, so decided to tease the viewer by providing snippets that spark excitement and create intrigue across all platforms.

Headjam designed and developed The Lock-up's new responsive website to ensure that every user regardless of platform or device could easily navigate and enjoy their experience.

Posters were designed as invitations in order to “kill two birds with one stone”, and used a custom fold and cost effective printing in black and white with a Pantone fluro-orange overlay that partly obscures content. Here the user is able to glimpse the work, but to get the full sense of the artwork and experience, need visit to the exhibition.

Other forms of Headjam's creative solution includes the design and development of Electronic Newsletter templates (EDM's) and a series of social media assets that can be used throughout all of The Lock-up's social channels.

Evaluation

Since the launch in September 2014 The Lock-up's re-brand and new programming of the contemporary art centre have radically increased visitation and this doesn't look likely to slow down any time soon. Website traffic increased by over 300% within the first 12 months and continues to grow, with a highly successful social media engagement strategy proving vital to direct contact with audiences and the ongoing communication challenge of working with tight arts-based budgets.

For the first time The Lock-up has an online voice it can be proud of, and it is attaining recognition with its peers around the world.

Head down to The Lock-up yourself to check out the transformation, and visit them online to see what's on this month.

www.thelockup.org.au

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