The Burlington Performing Arts Centre

The Burlington Performing Arts Centre

Brand development from the ground up.

The Burlington Performing Arts Centre, (BPAC) is a world-class theatre located in downtown Burlington.

As Creative Lead at BPAC, my mission is to bring all design work in-house and revitalize/reassemble the disconnected design work that was done out-of-house for the 7+ years preceding me.

What once was lost is now found...

I brought back the use of BPAC’s original colour scheme (seen on the logo), and reinstated the original architectural typeface found throughout the building.

I also completely redesigned and rebuilt BPAC’s website to make it more attractive and user-friendly for our hundreds of thousands of patrons.

Visit Burlingtonpac.ca

BPAC web design by Cam Stevens

10 Years. Strong.

BPAC has officially been around for 10 years. That’s a long time. A 10-year rebrand was going to take a lot of research, insight, strategy, and damn-good design. BPAC’s original design guidelines leaned on elements found in the logo, (which I admit must be improved) specifically, the colours and the wavy line seen at the bottom of the blue shape in the emblem. Adherance to the original design guidelines was lost over the years. Management turnover, lack of historical knowledge, outsourcing, and Microsoft Word/Powerpoint “design” by unqualified staff resulted in a lost brand.

But what an opportunity! When I started the brand refresh/restart, I paid homage to BPAC’s history while bringing it into the future at the same time. My thought: make it a little more polished, a little more mature - but don’t let ’em forget where it all came from.

I took the emblem’s shapes, negative space, and the wavy line, and broke them out into separate ‘energies’. The shapes evoked spotlight and soundwave shapes. Arranged throughout each composition, be it web or print, the shapes added a much-needed vibrancy and connection to BPAC’s history and purpose.

BPAC brochure cover close up

BPAC brochure close up

BPAC brochure close up

Burlington Performing Arts Centre poster design by Cam Stevens

Burlington Performing Arts Centre poster design by Cam Stevens

Burlington Performing Arts Centre poster design by Cam Stevens

Burlington Performing Arts Centre poster design by Cam Stevens

BPAC exterior poster designs by Cam Stevens

Site Redesign

I brought the design and management of BPAC’s website in-house, which drastically reduced cost and improved the user experience.

Burlington Performing Arts Centre site design by Cam Stevens

Burlington Performing Arts Centre site design by Cam Stevens

Burlington Performing Arts Centre site design by Cam Stevens

Burlington Performing Arts Centre site design by Cam Stevens

BPAC website by Cam Stevens

Video

Another cost-reduction goal of mine was to bring video editing and video production in-house, so I learned to use Adobe Premiere Pro to create videos used for marketing and educational purposes. Example below:

Typography

I brought back the typeface used on the original logo and signage/wayfinding found throughout the facility.

BPAC typography by Cam Stevens

BPAC typography by Cam Stevens