branding process

AVENUE EVENT SPACE

AVENUE is a unique event venue in the Portland Metro region that is uniquely focused
on providing the highest quality audio+video event production and support. Some of the
space’s features include adjustable table spotlights to focus lighting on each table (bringing
attention to centerpieces and table design), and specially selected carpet installed for
optimal acoustical properties to enhance audio clarity from the stage. These boutique audio
and visual-centric touches add significant production value to any event hosted in the space,
and sets AVENUE apart from its competitors.

Event Space Exploration

As AVENUE was being built from the ground up, I had the opportunity to help them hit the ground running with a fresh identity, and help position them as a unique competitor in the event space market. I collected as many Portland-area event space venues as I could find, and put all their logos on a page to see what the competition looked like.

Most of the Portland-area event spaces use simple, black and white type-focused logos. Out of the few that used any color at all, red was the dominant choice.

Exploring All Avenues

Not only did I want to examine other event space branding, but also that of other organizations that shared the name "Avenue," whether they had anything to do with event spaces or not. It'd be one thing to differentiate AVENUE from their direct competitors, but I also wanted to avoid landing on a similar treatment of a similarly named—if altogether unrelated—business.

Other Avenues, event space related and otherwise.

An A/V Vision

The tagline I was given in the brief read, "At AVENUE, event production is our first thought, not an afterthought." Even in the draft stages of the logo, I knew I wanted to emphasize the A/V in AVENUE as the audio/visual capabilities of the space was a major feature.

A few of the initial logo directions

The client liked the general direction of the emphasized A/V, but also really liked the shortening of the name to AVE for certain applications. We picked a typeface to use as the base, and with some modifications to the characters for shape and spacing, our final mark took shape pretty quickly.

Primary logo

Secondary logo

Blue felt like a good choice for the primary color, as one of the other ventures the client was involved in used blue and gray in the logo. Not only that, but none of the other Portland event spaces or other businesses under the name "Avenue" used it, so it was an easy way to stand apart visually. Besides blue and gray, the client also wanted a shade of brown in the palette as the interior of the space they were building had lots of gorgeous exposed wooden beams on the ceiling. For a tiny bit of pop and contrast in their various materials, we added a vibrant yellow and orange to the mix.

With the core of the identity in place, the brand was ready to be deployed throughout various signage and collateral needs.

Image credit: Andie Petkus Photography

Social graphic

Image credit: Andrea Lonas Photography

The following images are mock-ups taken from the brand book to show potential uses of the branding on relevant equipment and gear.