Design / Interactive
OBJECTIVES
Opened in 1886, Webster Hall is America’s longest running nightclub and performance venue. It has earned its “Cultural Landmark” status many times over, hosting countless important social events, developing musical innovations, and providing a stage for some of the world's most famous musicians. Having befriended the former owners/management, I lead the charge across a variety of creatively and culturally impactful projects, from one-off events, to weekly party design and multi-channel promotional campaigns. The creative relationship all started with the infamous and world-renowned Girls + Boys weekly party.
RESULTS
- 94% increase in ticket sales year over year.
- Skrillex, Calvin Harris, Disclosure, Diplo amongst notable headliners
- Over 50,000 festival attendees experienced the new brand at Mysteryland 2015 in Bethel Woods, NY
- Earned 2016 Nightclub of the Year (worldwide) from Pollstar
The Life of the Party
First launched to great fanfare in 2007, the exceedingly popular Friday night "tastemaker" party, Girls + Boys, needed a visual brand refresh. My creative design team was tasked to evolve the beloved brand into something modern, fun, and bursting with personality. A moodboard, sketch iterations, and a little elbow grease resulted in an iconic logo and associated style guide for the energized brand.
I wanted to ensure that any additional materials made would adhere to the specific guidelines, so the creative team delivered comprehensive design templates to the internal Webster Hall promotions team. Self sufficiency with style.
Every Moment Counts
Having a logo and a “look” was not enough for a party that is going to host 52 events every year, in perpetuity. We needed to plan for the unknown and find a way to maintain consistency across all marketing channels. For the party, this means we had to create a full tool set of elements and rules so that the brand voice and attitude speaks to its audience week after week, year after year. Colors, custom, hand-drawn shape forms, layout rules, and examples set the tone for anyone working on the day-to-day materials to follow.
A full photoshop template with layers for logo, photo, pattern and event info placement, with an asset collection make it possible for anyone on the Webster Hall team to create custom even fliers at a moment's notice with ease.
Bright Lights, Big Sounds
Print design is static, a party is not. I delivered videos to elevate the Girls + Boys brand behind the performers at each and every event, accentuating the lively, youthful crowd that filled Webster Hall every Friday night. Partygoers can saw the video elements displayed on the walls and DJ booth of the main stage.
“We consider ourselves so lucky to have found a responsible, high-quality creative partners with David, Aviva and their team. Working with a group that so clearly “gets it” is a blessing. This brand is very close to our hearts and it was amazing to have an outsider truly understand our vision. The crew knows what to say and how to communicate it effectively across digital and live brand channels. Together, we are unstoppable.”
The Hall's History, Online
With 4 discreet stages and any number of events taking place on a given day, well, the website was a bit of a monster. I thought that it'd be great to share the "scope of the space" with prospective vistors. To that end, my team designed and developed an interactive, responsive timeline, using some cool new web development tricks. With access to a large of number of historical photos, sketches, and fliers spanning almost 180 years, this was no easy feat. Webster Hall has been a cornerstone of the colorful East Village (downtown NYC) community, and with such a strong presence it was important to tell its story in an engaging way.
Using parallax scrolling techniques, the microsite calls out important milestones for each era.
On Top Until the End
As of 2016 this historic venue was the second most popular club in the world with respect to attendees. In 2016, the club received the designation of "Nightclub of the Year" (worldwide) by industry magazine, Pollstar. Weekly Girls + Boys events frequently sold out and contributed to the venue’s enduring success and global reputation. Enhanced by the invigorating rebrand, Webster Hall went out on top and gave the honor to Skrillex to close down one of the premier clubs in the world. The venue closed for renovations under new ownership during the Summer of 2017.