Curtis Institute of Music
Positioning, Branding, Tagline, User Interface, Website, Marketing
Helping to extend a 100-year legacy well into the future, we realized the new Curtis brand and established a voice for the 21st Century.
In this day and age, the primary focus of any identity is the digital environment. To bring the brand to life, we created three animation sequences from the Curtis identity system. Each sequence is unique to the mark it represents.

Creating a tagline that captures 100 years of talent was a daunting task. From Leonard Bernstein to Lang Lang, future masters of classical music have once-in-a-lifetime musical exchanges at Curtis.

The core identity for Curtis consists of a series of six musical “C’s”. The focus on the first letter of the Curtis name helps the organization to raise awareness. The full system is bold and refined, helping the organization to be remembered and to cement their place as the cornerstone of music.
Curtis.edu serves many audiences: Students, Alumni , Donors, Patrons and the general public. We took this challenge as an opportunity to create a site that 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 truly capture the brand, it was important to represent the magic that happens inside the school. With the help of photographer David Katzenstein, we directed on-site photo shoots as witness to the magical exchange between the students and their teachers.

Stationery

As important as the school is, when we first traveled to Curtis, no cab drivers knew how to get there. With the help of the City of Philadelphia, we were able to take the brand to the streets. Locust Street and Rittenhouse Square have come alive with the spirit of music. We are happy to say, on recent visits, all we had to do was mention Curtis and the drivers did the rest.

Construction Scrim for Lenfest Hall. Lenfest will be the future home for students and the crowned jewel of the new Curtis.
In conjunction with Instant Encore, Curtis goes digital.
Screensaver.
OTTO NY in association with AdamsMorioka, Inc.
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