From a respected-but-aging institution
To a unified, modern champion of music.
CHALLENGE:
The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO), one of America’s oldest and most revered cultural institutions, faced a familiar modern problem: relevance. With an aging audience and a fractured brand system spanning four entities — the BSO, the Boston Pops, Tanglewood, and Symphony Hall — the organization needed a new identity that could bridge its legacy with the future.
STRATEGY:
Our strategy was to bring harmony to complexity — creating a singular brand system that could honor the BSO’s rich heritage while resonating with a broader, younger, and more diverse audience. By rooting the visual identity in the physical and emotional architecture of the BSO — its concert halls, its sound, its sense of place — we transformed the brand from a collection of logos into a living expression of where music truly resides.
CREATIVE SOLUTION:
Reimagining the BSO wasn’t just about updating a logo — it was about redefining what classical music feels like. We set out to design a brand that could live across both mahogany-lined halls and mobile screens, speaking fluently to long-time season ticket holders, music lovers and first-time listeners alike.
The new identity expresses music in motion — a visual symphony built on rhythm, form, and resonance. Circular motifs and architectural lines evoke harmony and unity, while a carefully orchestrated color system ties each sub-brand to its emotional and physical home: the deep blue of Boston Symphony Orchestra, the celebratory red of the Pops, the natural green of Tanglewood, and the luminous gold of Symphony Hall.
Together, these elements compose a brand that feels at once historic and new — timeless in tone, yet modern in expression. What began as an identity redesign became a cultural reset — helping the BSO open its doors wider than ever and invite the next generation.
"In a world where cultural institutions must evolve to meet the demands of a rapidly changing landscape, the Boston Symphony Orchestra is a shining example of tradition reimagined. With its bold new identity, the BSO will captivate hearts and minds for generations to come, inviting audiences to experience the transformative power of music in all its splendor."
