The Shadow Electric was Melbourne’s newest independent open-air cinemas, which had it’s first season over the 2012 summer, at the majestic surrounds of the Abbotsford Convent. As the cinema was aimed at “film buffs who love outdoor cinema,” we emphasised the array of interesting films that were on offer by the use of strong typography and imagery. This simple treatment resulted in collateral that kept the focus on the quality mix of films.
The proceeding season at The Shadow Electric, saw the introduction of more events at the space to accompany the film program, like music gigs to charity evenings. The Shadow Electric also released two program booklets, creating vignettes of each of the films on offer. We designed the programs similar to a magazine layout rather than a traditional film guide. We wanted to illustrate that the content was more engaging than a copy and pasted film synopsis, while still allowing people to easily find screening information. A complete redesign and redevelopment process of the website also occurred, so that a consistent visual language was apparent across the Shadow’s print and digital media. This resulted in seamless integration when viewing the booklet, bill posters, print ads or the digital content on mobile and tablet devices.
The finally year of work with the cinema, the choice was made to centre the design emphasis on the fruit bats that fly over the space at dusk. A collage of shapes in flight was created, representing the vibrancy of the space and mixture of films and events that are held. The film program booklet was downsized, with the focus moved to digital collateral. Together with a mix of online advertising, the website was given a thorough overhaul to ensure it was user friendly across all mobile and tablet devices.
— Concept
— Brand identity
— Website
— Design
— Collateral
— Comprehensive brand style guidelines
— Typography
— Digital content
