Juliet Rutter ePortfolio

1. What is your organization or company? Give background history including
by whom, when, and why it was founded.

Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago. Gary Sinise cofounded this theatre group with a couple of high school friends from Highland Park High School in 1974. It seems that they founded it to do theatre that they wanted to do. Steppenwolf was named after a book Rick Argosh (one of the other founders) was reading at the time called Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse. They basically didn’t want to deal with the paperwork of changing their name and it already had a resonance with the locals. Over the course of the 1980s the theatre company continued to expand with new members and new spaces. It now has forty-four ensemble members.

2. What do they do or make – describe the products and services and what
makes them unique.

They are a contemporary theatre company. They provide shows, arts education, food, drink, and merchandise. Steppenwolf operates year-round with primarily contemporary programming. (Their first Shakespeare play was The Tempest and premiered in 2007.) They include programs to show new plays, and to educate children and young adults. They also have yearly events for the public, such as Gala, and Unlocked which are both fundraising events. Other events are Women in the Arts and Veteran’s Night. These events are to acknowledge these groups Women in the arts is a luncheon to honor distinguished women in the theatre world today and Veteran’s Night is every dress rehearsal where veterans are invited to come for free. They also have the Front Bar which is located in the front of the new 1700 Theatre. Steppenwolf is unique because of their innovative theatre model, their ability to attract wonderful talent, and how they market themselves. They use multiple theater spaces so that they can have longer run times and keep the lights on for longer, and they have multiple ways to earn income. Instead of marketing their shows they market their brand, name, and community relations.

3. Describe the culture of the organization or company. What is the work
environment like – the atmosphere? What is the building like –
exterior/interior, architecture, fittings and furniture? How do the employees
work together? What are the jobs and roles of individuals? How does
management treat them?

The atmosphere is one of innovation and invention. Steppenwolf has three theater spaces. The 1700 Theater, Downstairs Theater, and the Upstairs Theater. The Downstairs Theater houses 515 patrons, the Upstairs Theater houses 299 people, and the 1700 Theater can seat 80. The 1700 Theater is a black box space that they do new plays and dance concerts. People in leadership positions are: Anna D. Shapiro Artistic Director, David Schmitz Managing Director, and Terry Kinney Jeff Perry Gary Sinise Founders. They have several employees for many areas throughout Steppenwolf operations. People for teaching youth, people dedicated to audience experience, development, marketing, etc.

4. Who is the targeted audience? What are their demographics? (Age, gender,
income level, where they live, own or rent, etc.)

They draw audience members from around the world. They have a very accessible section of their website to help people from out of town to come and see their shows. The education part of their operations opens them up to younger audiences. So far, I have not seen anything that involves children’s theatre.

5. What is the organization or company mission statement? Tagline? (Can be
the same – Nike’s is, “Just Do it!”

Steppenwolf Theatre Company is where great acting meets big ideas. Our passion is to tell stories about how we live now. Our mission is to engage audiences in an exchange of ideas that makes us think harder, laugh longer, feel more.

Type/Typography as design:
Makes me think of establishing a feeling or vibe of an organization or event through the text. The text is like the voice of the organization and the word itself is like what it is saying and as we know sometimes the tone of voice a person uses is just as if not more important than what a person is actually saying.

Balance:
Can be symmetrical or asymmetrical and is the result of how all of the elements of design work together (color, lines, shape, etc.). It also determines the visual stability of a piece if it is lacking in balance, the piece may be off-putting to the viewer.

Intangibles:
This brings to mind the impression the logo (or whatever) is leaving on an individual. What you can say using color or style that makes an onlooker feel.

Flexibility:
Flexibility in the context of branding and design means that the brand should be able to be shown in multiple ways such as on a sticker or billboard or a black and white poster. It can also suggest that maybe the color or something else about the brand can be changed to fit an event or season to make the event stand out more. An example of this is when Google changes the style of it’s logo nearly every day to tell users something about the day itself in history or to showcase an event happening on that day.

Dutch Bros.

  The Dutch Bros. Coffee logo (and various forms of it) are on nearly every surface I look at in the Northwest which is weird to me because I’ve never found a lot of them to be very appealing. I investigated this brand because I want to know why it is everywhere. It seems that part of the reason why the logo succeeds is because you can get it in nearly any format such as shirts, stickers, cups, etc. (http://brandtwist.com/advertising/dutch-bros-coffee-brewer-of-brand-personality/) It also has multiple styles of the brand so that more people will be willing to buy them. (https://shop.dutchbros.com/collections/accessories) People can show their appreciation for this brand of coffee that is not just indicative or Oregon and the Northwest, but also of good coffee and good will. At Dutch Bros. patrons are always greeted by a peppy person, good music, and good coffee so they associate the brand with those feelings.

Doctor Who

 Ever since I got into Doctor Who I have loved how the opening sequence will change over time. After nearly each generation of The Doctor the logo will change too. It is almost like the brand of the show is changing because The Doctor is changing and it is enticing. Looking over the brands of the show over the decades it has changed to reflect a different time and a different mood of the show to appeal to changing audiences.(http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/s4/features/galleries/gallery_logos/1) The logo also helps fans keep track of what generation of Doctor they are watching and be super excited when the next generation comes out because there will be an all new brand. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Doctor_Who#Logo_history) The Doctor Who logo has also been used in many marketing and branding efforts including merchandise, computer wallpapers, etc. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/s4/features/galleries/gallery_new_logo_wallpaper)

Ovaltine

Ovaltine has been my favorite chocolate milk drink forever (and I love my chocolate). The Ovaltine brand as I have known it has always been in a connected kind of old time charm font with white lettering, brown background, and yellow border. It really makes me feel comfortable and makes me think of chocolate when I look at it. I think its simplicity and the way the elements of design work together is why it is successful. The font makes me feel comforted while the underline swoosh also makes me excited, the colors scream chocolate, food, and uplifting vibes because of the yellow. The marketing of this product seems to mostly be done through product awareness (except that it is owned by Nestle. I just figured that out and am not happy.) in that it has a lot of vitamins and is pretty healthy for you. The brand seems to just accentuate the look of the product on the shelf as the packaging is generally more vibrant than those of the competitors.  However, the brand is simple enough to be used in the mediums that they do advertise in such as online, TV ads, and product design. (https://www.ovaltineusa.com/#/home)

1. Learn more about how to design things on the computer for marketing purposes.
2. Be able to use tech well enough to organize and manage information.
3. I would like to learn how to communicate more effectively with design.
4. I would like to be more familiar with different kinds of software than what I’m used to.