When the doors open at Nye Hjorten Teater in January 2025, the historic spirit of 19th-century variety theatre, the legacy of Olga Topp, will be revived. Aimed to reach a broad audience with a diverse program that includes entertainment, musicals, comedies, farces, family shows, and classic dramas – encompassing the full spectrum of audience experiences and emotions.

The privately owned folk theatre, established by Ole Robert Reitan, approached Nonspace to build a new brand. The goal was to develop a brand strategy, visual identity, and communication strategy that would meet the expectations of the opening and ensure continuous renewal and growth.

With an entirely new team at Nye Hjorten Teater, it was crucial for everyone to participate in exploring and shaping the theatre's future. We collaborated with the team through a comprehensive brand workshop to define the theatre's vision and ambitions. These were encapsulated under the brand platform "Where Life Plays," aiming to enrich Trondheim with new and exciting cultural experiences.

It is an art to create an identity that is flexible, consistent, and adaptable to various contexts without losing integrity. Nye Hjorten Teater faced the challenge of balancing creative expression with organisational structure. The identity needed to be a framework that embraced and highlighted the creativity and excitement that would unfold within the theatre's walls. This involved establishing a brand architecture that could scale, adapt, and resonate with a broad audience, from cultural connoisseurs to the culturally curious.

Nye Hjorten Teater aims to contribute to Trondheim's cultural and economic development by creating attractive jobs and cultural offerings that appeal to residents and visitors. The discussion around the theatre's societal role and declining audiences is a general issue for theatres across Norway. However, Nye Hjorten Teater has a clear ambition to put Trondheim on the map as a destination for culture enthusiasts. Therefore, the theatre must stand out and create a space where a broad target audience can feel at home. This involves offering spectacular shows and a wide range of performances, from stand-up comedy to scientific lectures, thereby creating a refuge from the hustle and bustle of digital life.

Nye Hjorten Teater is to be a house of entertainment – a fabulous fever dream that brings culture and emotions to the people through laughter, tears, fantastic theatre and entertainment. Through world-class stage experiences, magical moments, and unforgettable memories, Nye Hjorten aims to be a sanctuary for experiences - nursing and collecting memories. By developing Nye Hjorten's brand story, we landed on the concept of "Where Life Plays," which encompasses the theatre's grand ambitions and tone.

The goal of Nye Hjorten's identity is to create a stage where the various creative expressions can unfold, with the ability to adjust the visuals within the brand. The communication strategy allows the medium or format to act as the 'stage' where the identity becomes a framework for any creative endeavour. We developed two identity boxes that create the negative space in an 'H' together. We also provided the flexibility to experiment with different fonts for different performances so each show could have its unique mini-identity within Nye Hjorten's visual framework.

In addition to the logo lock-up, we developed a symbol for the theatre. This playful symbol incorporates Nye Hjorten Teater's letters, a reinterpretation of the classic tragedy and comedy masks often associated with theatre, and the Trøndersk moustache!

The primary colours position Nye Hjorten Teater as a player in entertainment and culture. The red colour represents the theatre as the city's beating heart, a pulse that throbs in the centre and reflects the theatre's exterior.

Alongside brand development, brand story, visual concept, and a new visual identity, we also created a social media kit, website design, a user-friendly communication strategy, and various creative campaigns to promote Nye Hjorten Teater externally.

We conducted a job advertisement campaign that resulted in over 700 applications, and we developed the launch campaign for the opening show "Peter Pan - Stargate to Neverland" - from idea to creative communication. Through edgy and somewhat "cheeky" art direction, we created an exciting visual video and photo universe with a narrative highlighting Trondheim as a cultural destination and Nye Hjorten Teater as the city's new and exciting stage. We wanted to create a genuine expectation that something magical was about to happen, spiced with nostalgic references to Peter Pan, which was the show's theme.

Visual of buidling: Skibnes Arkitekter AS
Film production and special effects: Helmet
Sound: Nye Hjorten Teater