Expression is an Essential Need
Branding + Positioning the Ohio Arts Council
Expression is an essential need. In cities, towns and villages, across diverse Ohio regions, from urban inner cities to rural Appalachian hilltops, the arts communicate experiences and life — preserving heritage, sharing history, telling stories of our communities.
For this reason, the arts connect us.
Twenty-fifteen brought the Ohio Arts Council into their 50th year. There was much celebration to be had and plenty of planning to do. It was time for a rebrand including a new identity. Their previous identity’s main component was a brush-stroked state of Ohio. While iconic to many who have served the council for the full life of the mark, it limited the focus to the visual arts.
The arts unite us.
The arts are, of course, so much more than painting. The arts are dancing, singing, writing, sculpting, thinking, experiencing. The arts are active; expressive—in thought and nature. And that’s no different in Ohio or any other state. The Ohio Arts Council aims to give a voice to all of the arts and artists all over Ohio.
By promoting the arts and connecting artists, the Ohio Arts Council makes the collective voice of the arts stronger.
Defining the Arts in Ohio
There really is no tangible definition for what the arts are and what they do. Each artist, every piece is unique—expressive in their own ways.
Expression is something that connects us all. And that’s exactly what the Ohio Arts Council aims to do with each program, grant and resource. Connecting students to professionals, the public to a new art form or experience, a thought to a work of art. Each creating something tangible from something so abstract and difficult to define.
Recognizing unique needs as well as celebrating commonalities, the Ohio Arts Council enhances the power of the arts and communicates the significance;
Each color of the new identity stands for the people and the arts the council represents. They stand for the artists, for the public, for educators and organizations, for their core team. Each piece building on the next, the Arts are connected throughout Ohio.
….building flourishing communities and enriching human experiences.
So, let’s all celebrate the arts for another 50 years (and more) and continue making the collective voices stronger. Share the significance and promote the power of the arts in Ohio—and everywhere around the world.
Lydia is the art director at Fulcrum Creatives. When she’s not working, you can find her assessing cat gifs, tending to succulents or writing haikus on the bus.
Fulcrum Creatives is a certified B Corp design and development studio in Columbus, Ohio focused on creating, elevating and sustaining brands that care.
