As creatives, we love to combine different artistic worlds. And the combination of music and design is a real treat for us. That's why we were extremely happy when the Good Taste Production group, for whom we created the visuals for the first edition of the Jazz Around Festival, came back to us with a new challenge. This time they asked us to help them refresh the image of Poznan's iconic jazz club, Blue Note, which they co-own.
Blue Note is one of the oldest, Polish jazz clubs. The place has had an exceptional reputation for over 25 years, being one of the key points on the map of Poland for music lovers.
After 25 years of existence, the Blue Note club decided to refresh its image, both in terms of interior design and identity. The biggest challenge we faced together was to honor the tradition of the place, while implementing new and fresh visual solutions.
Our task was to design an evolution, not a revolution. This would ensure that the regular clients would continue to feel at home, and potential new audience would become interested in the "new" place. Our client was also extremely attached to the old logo, so it was crucial to ensure maximum sensitivity on our part to make the new logo a natural successor to the old one.
Our first was, of course, the sign and key visual. On the one hand, we selected elements from the old logo that we could transform in a new way. On the other hand, we also listened to the stories of our client, who emphasized that regular visitors often refer to the club in shorthand by simply calling it BLUE. Getting the new identity right and making it modern was crucial for us, as Blue Note Jazz Club is intended to be the start of an umbrella brand.
We started our work on the new sign by cleaning up. We dropped the stave, but kept the note (in a not-so-literal form). The next piece of the puzzle was decisions about typography. We opted to use a handwriting font only in the word BLUE, which at the same time connects us to the original sign, but also doesn't make it too childish.
The note has proven to be an extremely graceful and playful element, which has become the theme tune for the entire key visual. Depending on the need or use, it can be a shape, an abstract pattern or a reinforcement of a particular message.
The typography that we chose (New Spirit) refers to retro inspirations, but is balanced with a simple, sans-serif typeface (New Reason) by the same designer, Miles Newlyn. At the same time, we tried to reference the iconic Blue Note Records and the early days of jazz, but maintain a lot of breath and freshness throughout the identity, thanks to a minimalisic and thoughtful stylistic approach.
As for the color scheme, it is of course dominated by blue, complemented by beige and deep navy blue. Again, it was extremely important to transform this message into something sounding modern, but at the same time familiar. The shade we chose is reminiscent of cobalt, so it is not cool, but vibrant, making it easy to notice and associate with the club.
Building brand worlds you want to live in.
Feel free to contact us: +48 883 595 268 hello@workshop91.com
