The Partners rebrands Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra to “make music visual”

The New York office of agency The Partners has rebranded Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra, with a logo that they describe as “music made visual”. Replacing its existing logo designed in 2003 – a black and white block featuring a silhouette of the Brooklyn Bridge and the orchestra’s name in caps – this new logo strips the name back to initials, with each letter starkly different in design.

The design of each letter exemplifies an individual aspect of the orchestra, the agency explains. The blocky “B” is representative of Brooklyn, “robust, industrial and iconic”. The more delicate, serif “S” stands for great music, “elegant, dynamic and expressive”. The “O” is made up of a collection of dots, to symbolise the community of musicians, “convergent, complementary and collaborative”.

In addition to the brand identity the agency is also developing software that can visually interpret music in real time, creating graphics to be used on the BSO’s digital platforms. The design team says the identity “brings dynamism and freshness to the presentation of music that transcends the time it was written”.

Nick Armstrong, artistic director at BSO says: “The Partners’ work has yielded an exciting, contemporary resource for us, which brings together a graphical logo, and a dynamic use of that logo which the BSO will use in its marketing.”