Where Legends Begin
As stewards of trusted brands, it became evident very quickly that the Curtis brand had to be recast with a modern sensibility and carefully evolve with a new a voice for the 21st Century. The brand line “Where Legends Begin” speaks to both the many talents that have passed through the institute – from Leonard Bernstein to Lang Lang – and the future masters of classical music yet to come.
Visual Identity
The initial letter of the Curtis name became our focus for the brand identity. The letter C became the major visual brand key. We developed a set of six musical Cs, each intricately to convey the richness of the world of music. The full system is bold and refined, helping the institute to cement its place in the annals of music education.
To bring the visual identity to life, we created three animation sequences, with each sequence being unique to the mark it represents.
Website
The primary focus of any brand today is the digital environment. The institute’s website – curtis.edu – serves many audiences, including students, alumni, donors, patrons and the general public. We saw this challenge as an opportunity to set Curtis apart from all other classical music schools, capturing the mastery and spirit of the school, while making the site deep and easy to use.
The students are the heart of the school. To capture the magical exchange that occurs between the students and teachers inside at the school, we directed on-site shoots, with photographer David Katzenstein, as a photo documentary.
