(ex) Ode
Visual Identity · Poster Design · Editorial Materials
A contemporary theatre production that bridges ancestral memory and experimental form through music, movement, and storytelling.
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Challenge & Response
The Request
The French theatre company Compagnie Zumbó commissioned a complete visual identity for their new production (EX)ODE – Au feu des origines.
The show explores human migration, memory, and identity through music, spoken word, and movement — merging deep-rooted traditions with experimental forms.
The brief called for a visual system that could communicate both heritage and modernity. The company needed a poster, a brochure, and materials for press and festival presentation. The identity had to resonate across diverse cultural contexts and remain visually impactful in both print and digital.
The central poster image featured a portrait of one of the artists’ ancestors, grounding the design in authenticity and lineage.
The Solution
The identity was designed to be striking yet poetic, balancing cultural symbolism with a contemporary graphic system. The poster combined ancestral imagery with bold typography and a reduced palette, creating a minimal yet emotionally charged composition.
Typography and layout drew inspiration from editorial and festival aesthetics, ensuring adaptability across brochures, press kits, and digital assets.
The result was a visual identity that highlighted the duality of the production: roots and experimentation, memory and innovation.
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The visual direction
Inspiration
Ancestral photography · Festival posters · Experimental typography
Personality
Poetic · Experimental · Rooted
Features
Poster design with ancestral portrait at its core
Brochure system for editorial and festival presentation
Consistent graphic identity for press, print, and digital media
We Observe
We researched the tango scene in the US and the expectations of cultural institutions and theatergoers abroad. We looked at how other performing arts websites presented shows, companies, and creators — noting what worked and what lacked soul.
We Edit
We filtered out visual excess and avoided overused tango tropes. Instead, we defined a clean identity with expressive accents — letting rhythm and clarity drive the user experience.
We Design
We developed the logo and visual language, then translated it into a fully responsive website with a scalable structure ready to grow as the company expands its activities.
We Refine
We adjusted navigation paths, call-to-action placements, and content modularity to suit both current use and potential new functionalities like ticket sales, artist profiles, or video content.
What you see
A glimpse into the final expression of the brand.
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