White Rock City Orchestra
Intro
Design & Delivery
I led visual design for White Rock City Orchestra, a local nonprofit seeking stronger audience engagement and more consistent concert attendance. Working with the client and our project team, I established the typography, colour and layout across the brand book, posters and presentation materials. Audience research and client priorities guided the direction from the brief through to delivery.
Design objective
The identity needed to speak to different audiences while remaining recognisable across formats. I used interviews, surveys and observation to understand those audiences, then translated the findings into visual decisions and targeted recommendations for the original website.
Ethnographic Research
I began by conducting ethnographic research to understand how different audience groups experience the orchestra's concerts. This included observing interactions on-site, designing surveys, and interviewing both orchestra members and attendees. These conversations helped surface patterns in expectations, motivations, and the small frictions that shape the overall concert experience.
Persona Development
Using the research insights, I synthesized the data into three key personas: The Business, The Classical, and The Family. Each represented a distinct audience segment with different goals and engagement patterns. Visualizing these personas helped clarify who we were designing for and guided the direction of the experience improvements.
-persona design-
Journey Mapping
To identify where design intervention would be most impactful, I mapped the original end-to-end concert-goer journey. This revealed three major friction points across the discovery, attendance, and post-concert stages. I then created an ideal future-state journey that addressed each pain point and outlined how design changes could support a smoother, more engaging experience.
-Journey map-
Website recommendations
Alongside the branding work, I contributed targeted website recommendations to support the client’s attendance goals. The proposal gives upcoming concerts, participation and sponsorship a clearer place in the landing page.
Proposed landing-page improvements.
Compare with original design · Homepage
Concert information, brought forward.
The original homepage gives the logo, instrument collage and past-concert galleries most of the opening screen. Navigation links have similar visual weight, so the next concert and the route to attending receive less emphasis. My proposal makes the upcoming performance a focal point and gives concert discovery, participation and sponsorship a clearer structure.
Prototyping & Design Development
I led the visual direction across our team’s campaign posters and presentation materials, working through typography, colour and layout. Audience research and client discussions guided the work, while a shared visual direction helped the materials feel consistent across formats.
Brand Book Delivery
Our team delivered a brand book, posters and presentation materials. I established the typography, colour and layout that connected them. I also contributed proposed website and pre-concert communication improvements to support the client’s attendance goals.
Visual hierarchy
I gave the orchestra’s name the strongest presence on the booklet cover, using large, condensed typography to establish a clear focal point. Changes in scale and weight distinguish the year and supporting details, giving each piece of information its place without losing the energy of the composition.
Compare with original design · Concert graphics
A stronger typographic hierarchy.
The large season-ticket illustration dominates the original page, while dates and booking details occupy a much smaller block below. Outlined lettering, a background logo and illustrated seating compete for attention within the graphic. For the booklet, I used bold, condensed typography and a clear separation between the orchestra’s name, year and supporting information.
A consistent visual identity
I carried the typography, colour palette and layout principles across the brand book, posters and presentation materials. Each format called for a different composition, but the visual identity needed to remain recognisable throughout. As lead visual designer, I established that direction for our team.
Compare with original design · Visual consistency
One visual direction across materials.
The original membership page combines curved blue panels, lime accents, gold headings and a photographic background. These treatments compete for attention, while long paragraphs make practical information harder to scan. My brand book establishes a more consistent hierarchy, colour palette and layout approach, giving the team a shared visual direction for posters and presentation materials.
Designed for continued use
The brand book brought those decisions into a reference the client could use beyond our project. By documenting typography, colour and layout, I gave the orchestra a foundation for developing future materials with a consistent visual identity.
Next Work
