CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program

Case Western Reserve University has a three-year MFA Acting program that partners with Cleveland Play House and its facilities to give their students mainstage and understudy experience. The program's eight students perform two shows every year, and these shows need youthful, eye-catching posters on a small budget.

Digital collage is a budget friendly way to create a contemporary and edgy look while also conveying many different ideas. I used black and white photos paired with colorful geometric shapes, backgrounds, and hand-drawn elements. I paired the imagery with clean, geometric typography (Futura) to keep a consistent brand look.

Client

Cleveland Play House
Case Western Reserve University

Role

DEsigner - branding, Digital Collage, Layout, print production

Deliverables

logo, showcase materials, posters, playbills, postcards, digital displays, signage

Show Posters

Branding

How do you put a very long program name like "Case Western Reserve University Cleveland Play House Master of Fine Arts Acting Program" into a logo? How do you convey quality education and appeal to prospective students at the same time?

CWRU and CPH both have logos that needed to be present on all print materials. So, instead of creating a traditional logo or wordmark for such a wordy program, I created a flexible look using type and containing shapes. A nod to CWRU, I used a brighter and more saturated blue as the main brand color. I played off the shapes used around the program name to create a set of brand elements. A bold sans serif (Futura) and geometric design elements say contemporary while a sophisticated serif (Sentinel) and high quality production photos convey quality and professionalism.