Bees’ Knees Dance
Bees’ Knees Dance has been a mainstay of the Toronto’s dance community since 1999; specialising in Lindy Hop, the original swing dance, and related swing era dance styles. I undertook a refresh of the logo and brand around 2010, and eventually came to produce everything from print (outdoor and indoor signage, postcards, apparel and shoe bags) to web (a website, video graphics for online use and stage effects and social media campaigns).
The logo refresh involved maintaining the elements already in use (bee hive, dancing silhouettes) and redrawing them as crisper, more usable vector shapes. An analysis of the ways the former logo was not working led to some alterations to the colour palette and typography. The result was fresher, but still rooted in the past of the business and the dance it championed.
The overall brand strategy needed to look at the wider swing dance community as well as potential new students. Swing dancing tends to appeal to a crowd that is attracted to the history through the lively big band music or vintage clothing styles. The objective of the Bees’ Knees Dance brand was to communicate these rich histories in a way that paid tribute without appropriating, and to bring the look into a modern space that could attract new energy. For new students, we discovered that a few common barriers existed to signing up for classes: these were misconceptions that you had to be young, athletic, or bring a partner.
We staged a photo shoot to capture a wide variety of people participating and underline how fun and approachable the scene really is. While nodding to the “vintage” vibe I processed our custom photography in a classic way with a twist: blue and aqua duotones in place of sepia. I used lighthearted, illustrative bee elements alongside the photography of people having a wonderful time. A mix of typographic styles and colours communicated visually for the brand voice and brought a unique and lively personality to the look and feel of the material. Additional iconography such as the dancing bee in flight, honeycomb, and retro feet cut-outs used in dance instruction became a mainstay in marketing various trial classes or social dance nights.
While the business has changed hands many times since this project first launched, Bees’ Knees Dance is still introducing new people to the spirit of the Lindy Hop.
What We Did: Branding, Digital, Print collateral, Social Media
Project Status: LAUNCHED, PRINTED
“I had already turned to Reesa for promotional materials that helped me to grow my business in the Toronto area and her bright visionary work helped set me apart in a town full of very stiff competition.” – Mandi Gould
For more of the nice things Mandi had to say about working with me, see her testimonial here.