Creative Hands stages a new identity for the Lyric

Creative Hands has completed a five-figure revamp of the identity for Victorian theatre the Lyric in London’s Hammersmith, following its appointment in September.

The launch of the identity in the New Year marks the first stage of a root-and-branch overhaul of the theatre, including interiors, exteriors and a change in artistic policy.

The Lyric will now be involved in every production, rather than hire out its facilities to external companies which it has done in the past, says marketing manager Ellie Beedham. The identity is designed to convey this, she says.

‘We haven’t had a punchy enough identity to compete with other theatres in the West End,’ Beedham adds.

Rick Mather Architects is renovating the theatre’s entrance, box office, rehearsals and educational spaces. Interiors will be created by the architect, says a spokeswoman, and are scheduled for completion in 2003.

The new identity will make its debut on literature for the play The Prince of Homburg, by Heinrich von Kleist, produced with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

The play will open in Stratford-upon-Avon in January next year and at the Lyric in February.

The Lyric has dropped the word theatre from its identity, which now reads Lyric Hammersmith instead of Lyric Theatre Hammersmith. Several previous logos existed, including some dating from the 1960s, but these were used inconsistently, according to Creative Hands managing director Nick Boyce.

‘Theatres are increasingly dropping the [word] ‘theatre’ from their titles,’ says Beedham. The Lyric is much more than a theatre, producing musicals and children’s events too, she adds.

The redesigned logo will be applied across the board to signage, promotional material for productions, on-line, brochures and stationery.

Creative Hands won the work after a credentials pitch against three rivals from a long list of ten consultancies. It chose not to present creative work at the final stage, says Boyce.