Rebrand for Sydney Opera House

Frost Design has created an identity for the Sydney Opera House, the first time in more than ten years that Australia’s iconic landmark has updated its marque. The logo launched across an advertising campaign in Sydney at the weekend.

The consultancy chose a strongly typographic identity because the Sydney Opera House sail shape has become ubiquitous in logos of Australian companies, says Frost Design general manager and senior strategist Cat Burgess.

‘We’ve turned up the volume of the typography – made that a very strong element – because the name is something Sydney Opera House can really own. The typography also represents the steps at the entrance to the building and is reminiscent of a crescendo of music, making the logo a performance in itself,’ says Burgess.

The group chose an early conceptual drawing by the building’s architect Jørn Utzon as the basis for its sails image. This image is used in campaigns to present a ‘more accessible and informal’ positioning, with words such as ‘live’ and ‘love’ written within it.

‘Because of its name people associate Sydney Opera House with high art but it’s about much more than that. It has a huge diversity of performance type and we wanted to reflect that,’ explains Burgess.

The group also came up with a strapline – ‘live performance every day’. Burgess says the line is core to the group’s strategic work, which highlighted that ‘performance is at the heart of the brand’.

Frost Design was appointed following a pitch against undisclosed competitors last May. Creative director Vince Frost led the project, working with senior designer Anthony Donovan and interactive designer Robert St Clair.