Gateway wanted a refreshed brand to reflect the changing times: their offering which has now spread beyond traditional theatre performance, and their audience in Richmond, the demographics of which has changed dramatically over the last 15-20 years.

We completed an extensive strategic project to understand the nature of where the organisation is now, and we felt that the new brand should elevate the theatre’s role in the community – championing the importance of performing arts in bringing together diverse peoples and ideas.

That was distilled in a central thought of ‘A Stage for Richmond’, which we then used as inspiration for a new graphic identity, that draws inspiration from the theatre’s past, while being a truer reflection of the people and cultures it now serves.

An accessible, bold style combined with a flexible system has allowed us to activate the brand across their wide offering of events, initiatives and activities, and provide a solid foundation for a completely new website, which we launched in early 2023.

Brand Elements

The original Gateway logo mark was designed by Fred Bosman of Vancouver in the early 80’s. Then, it had multiple meanings, most importantly a series of gateways – a gateway to the world, to the lower mainland, to Richmond and the arts.

We saw this as a golden opportunity to instil some heritage into Gateway’s new logomark – giving it a new lease of life, and new meaning for the Richmond of today. It still has multiple meanings, but the focus is more on a gateway to community and overlapping cultures that embeds it into the heart of Richmond.

It’s not very often we get to work with a company that has such legacy – Gateway has been a foundational player in building the community and culture of Richmond, and it was important to us to communicate this at a logomark level, and throughout the rest of the brand identity.

Everything from the colour ways to playful cut-out imagery is inspired by Richmond.

It’s been a pleasure to be part of the Gateway Theatre journey, and we’re excited to see it continue to grow alongside the community that make it.