Lethal creates British Music’s SXSW branding

British Music is a trade partnership, which showcases UK acts backed by a consortium of UK Trade & Investment, British Phonographic Industry, Performing Rights Society, Phonographic Performance Limited and Association of Independent Music.

 The consultancy, which has designed the British Music Embassy identity and the British Music certification marque has this year introduced, a ‘jukebox meets pinball’ theme to the brand.

The Embassy – the venue dedicated to British Music’s shows – is ‘a diplomatic reference with a rock n roll twist’, according to Lethal co-director Jesse Boyce.

This year’s jukebox and pinball-inspired look  ‘ditches the typographic consistencies we had and moves the whole thing on’ says Boyce, who worked with co-director Ben Aldis on the project.

‘The graphics aren’t too genre specific. They’re about something that’s inherent and dynamic in British Music; that could be for electronic, rock n roll or anything else.’

The jukebox is being used as ‘a mechanism to communicate information and the run down of shows’, says Boyce, who has looked to create a device that can delineate different British regional showcases at a glance.

‘There used to be five showcases and now there are 11 or 12’, says Boyce, who wanted to avoid different British regions competing for space with their own communications. ‘This way it’s democratic and chronological,’ he adds.

A two colour, rounded corner, 96 page catalogue has been created, in the American B6 size format, ‘so it can fit in your jeans back pocket,’ says Boyce – a solution to a change in distribution arrangements.

Previously showcase catalogues were distributed in delegate bags, but ‘these were becoming too cluttered’ Boyce says.

Other touch-points include t-shirts, fly-posters, tote bags, and projection graphics to back-drop the Embassy stage. 

‘We needed to make sure the projections aren’t too ambient or too full-on. They need to complement and give context to photographers’ pictures,’ says Boyce.

Some artists will play in several venues ‘so it’s important it’s your venue and branding in the picture,’ he adds.