Production still from The Winter’s Tale. Photo: Dahlia Katz.
In 2019 Acme was commissioned to design a new visual identity for critically-acclaimed outdoor Shakespeare company Shakespeare in the Ruff. Using Shakespeare as a foundation, RUFF re-interprets, re-writes, and re-news classic stories for a contemporary audience—RUFF pushes the boundaries of what is possible in outdoor theatre.
The new identity combines bold letterforms with a graphic concept drawn from the idea of the “RUFF” as the space in which the company works—both theatre in the park and the public commons. Whenever branding is desired and space and context allow, the four letterforms in “RUFF” occupy the corners of Shakespeare in the Ruff materials. The letters form an enclosure—a framing device—in which the content sits. This frame is the core logo for the company.
Below are examples of the RUFF corner logo in application for different social media assets, adapting to the various dimensions and aspect ratios—sometimes omitting the logo entirely where space makes the treatment awkward or it will appear beside an avatar.
In applications where the RUFF corner logo will not work either because of the format, layout restrictions, or context—such as logo bars—there is an alternate wordmark:
The primary colour palette is red and blue. These primary colours may be blended into a gradient, suggestive of a setting sun and the transition from day to night at dusk. Campaign creative artwork does not have to be restricted to these colours, but can play with shades and hues as the themes of the current production suggest.
The background of social media avatars can be a solid colour, a gradient, or an image.
