Gecko

Gecko is a renowned physical theatre company. Through strategic brand development, social media optimisation, and creative storytelling, we helped them enhance their brand presence, engage with their audience, and successfully launch their new show, Kin.

Approach:

Initially, Gecko came to us with a logo. They lacked any brand guidelines and an effective social media strategy. Additionally, they needed a distinctive identity for their new show, Kin, that would resonate with their multinational ensemble and reflect the show’s themes of connection and migration.

• Brand Immersion: We embarked on a journey to deeply understand Gecko’s world by meeting the team, observing rehearsals, and analysing their existing marketing collateral. This immersion led to the creation of a comprehensive brand book detailing colours, typefaces, and design guidelines to ensure consistency across all communications.
• Social Strategy: Conducting a thorough audit of Gecko’s social media accounts, we identified areas for improvement and developed a strategy to enhance their online presence. This involved researching their target audience, analysing competitors, and creating templates for consistent communication across platforms.
• Show Brand Identity for Kin: With the launch of their new show, Kin, we crafted a distinct visual identity that aligned with Gecko’s overall brand while capturing the essence of the production. This included creating a style guide, poster templates, digital resources, and other marketing materials inspired by the show’s themes and multinational ensemble. The concept represents the show’s multiple nationality ensemble and the many dialects spoken. The typography was key, we wanted it to feel functional rather than emotional in tone, instructional and internationally familiar; as you see in airports. Each letter was chosen to be legible, but also to feel different – to attract people with different dialects and suggest something unusual. A graphic style which suggested drive and direction, echoing the movement of people, change and emigration. 
  
  When is a ‘K’ not a ‘K’?
  The Latin alphabet we use is made up of 26 different characters. The forms of the letters are in the most part borrowed, developed or adapted from other alphabets throughout history and globally. Each letter is legible as Kin, but characters are from a mix of dialects:
  ķ (k-cedilla) is the 17th letter of the Latvian alphabet
  Ī is a vowel is a Brahmic script, also known as Indic script
  n is the 14th letter of the Latin alphabet.
  
  
• Photography: To enrich Gecko’s storytelling, we documented behind-the-scenes moments, providing a glimpse into the creative process and the people involved. This approach humanised the brand and created engaging content for their social media platforms.

Results:

• Consistent brand guidelines ensured a cohesive visual identity across all communications.
• Implementation of a tailored social media strategy led to increased engagement and improved communication with Gecko’s online community.
• Successful launch of Kin with a distinct visual identity that resonated with audiences and effectively communicated the show’s themes.
• Enriched storytelling through behind-the-scenes photography enhanced Gecko’s brand narrative and connected with audiences on a deeper level.

Photography credit: KIN Hero Image: Richard Haughton