Royal Exchange Theatre: brand identity by DixonBaxi

Act I: The Challenge

Theatre gives us Courage to connect with stories beyond ourselves.

The transformative power of theatre is as vital today as it was when the Royal Exchange Theatre first opened its doors to Manchester 50 years ago.

To carry that spirit forward, the theatre needed a revitalised brand to capture that electric Mancunian energy and offer everyone a seat at the story.

The Royal Exchange Theatre's auditorium under the Great Hall's glass dome, with the new Exchange signage

An actor in a laurel crown holds another whose head is bandaged, on the Royal Exchange stage

Two dancers mid-step under orange stage light beside a stepladder

Three actors share an orange armchair on the in-the-round stage

Two actors in silk robes smoke on a sofa in Private Lives

A Royal Exchange season poster hung from the theatre module's steel truss

The Royal Exchange building's stone facade with a vertical mint Exchange banner

A sewing machine branded Royal Exchange Theatre Company in the costume workshop

Archive artwork: Archive Vol. 01 set vertically over a drawing of the theatre module, with a Royal Exchange ticket

Act II: The Idea

Turning empathyinto radicalcreation

Built on the power of connection, the Exchange is a crucible of storytelling, where different voices meet and unexpected ideas emerge from the friction.

A Royal Exchange box reading The Centre of Our Theatre, in tissue paper

Act III: The Future

The mostcourageousact

Unapologetically bold, radically open and rooted in Manchester’s fearless spirit, the Exchange renews its invitation to the world:

To keep reaching for new possibilities, so that no one leaves unchanged.

Sharp lines contrast and complement with round forms

Consistent terminals that add character

Beginning and ending consistently, promoting the idea of energy flow

The theatre module's steel truss drawn as a bold white graphic over a dark photograph of the module

A performer in a pink polo shirt reaching out, caught in motion

Iconic architecture of the building

Career-defining performances

Mancunian attitude

A unique audience perspective

Vast array of productions

Innovation of the modular set designs

An unmistakable heritage

Dialogue that constantly adapts

A performer mid-scream in black and white

Unforgettable, intimate audience experiences

Lasting impact of the experience

The identity is shaped by a renewed punk attitude, with a system that relentlessly searches for new expressions in every story.

Lea JulienneSenior Brand Designer

The zine's cover: Stories from the North, Zine Vol. 02, a collection of real local stories

A Royal Exchange A-frame sign for Guys and Dolls, Faith Healer, Riot and Munichs outside the building

An illuminated orange Studio sign in the Exchange script

A cardboard box sealed with Royal Exchange Theatre Company tape

We pivoted away from comfortable convention, drawing on the theatre’s cultural history to create a brand that feels refreshingly modern.

Allan YeungBrand Writer

A roadside billboard for Spitty in black and mint

A lamppost banner for Absolute Scenes on a Manchester street

A mint Mezzanine Gallery Level 1 sign on the theatre's stairs

The royal exchange has so much culture and history. The work speaks to the intimacy of the venue as well as the Mancunian spirit.

Troy SimmsBrand Designer

A screen suspended in the golden truss of the Great Hall

Faith Healer
[Haunting/Introspective]
Riot
[Bold/Electric]
The First Blue Thing
[Poetic/Atmospheric]
Much Ado About Nothing
[Sophisticated/Rhythmic]
Guys & Dolls
[Seductive/Swaggering]
Munichs
[Tense/Gritty]
Talking to Boys
[Vulnerable/Off-Kilter]
R Lady’s
[Delicate/Fragmented]

A street hoarding for the world premiere of Talking to Boys

A hand holding a phone showing the Royal Exchange site for Riot

A Much Ado About Nothing poster outside the Royal Exchange

The First Blue Thing title treatment, annotated with its typefaces

A yellow Manchester bus carrying the Dead entertaining campaign

A Royal Exchange Instagram post: Every inch a King, in conversation with David Threlfall and Nadine Shah

A Royal Exchange Instagram post quoting Nadine Shah: I’m very aware of the legacy of this incredible building

A passer-by in front of a Munichs poster on a Manchester wall

We are so thrilled to share our new brand with the world. The team at DixonBaxi were incredibly creative and flexible, the entire process was both thorough and genuinely inspiring. It’s been a Herculean feat and a total joy to step into this new chapter.

Sheena Wrigley & Selina CartmellCo-CEO’s,Royal Exchange Theatre Company

A giant mint Royal Exchange frame outside Old Trafford

A hand holding a Counter the Comfortable poster beside a radio

A model in a translucent mint raincoat printed with the Ex monogram

A clear case printed with the Ex monogram lying on the pavement

A mint cassette: a growing collection of true stories from the North

A Theatre is Exchange programme on a printed T-shirt

AlwaysA part ofThe livingExchange

Light through the Great Hall's glass falling on the floor

Costumes on dress forms in the wardrobe department

Visitors on the red staircase up into the theatre module

The theatre module's steel frame seen from below

A rehearsal on the in-the-round stage, seen from the gallery

The Exchange's colours and type laid over a building plan

Posters and lettering proofs spread along a table

A Royal Exchange programme, badge and sweets on a wooden chair

The team and the theatre's staff sitting in a circle in a rehearsal room

How do we start?We become electrical.

Air tingling,mingling feelingssurfacing from scripts,Manchester’s muralsscribbles of wisdom.Threading echos of our future,a powerful tool to sharpenin the arena of the word speakers.

A theatre,staged as a once-temporary ironforged by the ones who started it,made to stay by the ones proudly carrying it.

It envelops you, not with a warm embrace- but rather, an engine of stories,evoking realities, to be told up close,breathbybreath.

The audience captive,to the mesmerising act,inexplicably tied to the intricaciesof a hand,catching the light of the setting sunthrough the glass doors,a cabinet being moved,circling around the play:the actors,the public,the props.

An exchange,created of equal parts heptagon,a maze of doors,a Victorian ceiling,and transparent walls -walking paces of a hundreds faces.

Come explore its core,share our roar,the stage is yours.