Westchester Philharmonic

Branding Concept

While not a formal proposal for the Westchester Philharmonic, Studio 23 created a proof-of-concept for what a rebranding could do to update their current identity. Orchestra attendance in most cities has been dwindling for years not as a reflection of a lack of talent in the industry but a lack of innovation and connecting with new and younger audiences. Westchester Philharomic’s old logo is a static depiction of a theater or stage (see below) and communicates that listening to music is a static, dull affair. It tells the viewer that attending a concert is about taking a seat and sitting still. It looks like a mark more appropriate for a ticket-finding service than a music-making one. With this kind of message, it’s no wonder attendance has faltered.

For us, music is a celebration—an active, exciting experience filled with moments of exhilaration, silence, and a range of everything in between. It’s an energetic, captivating, and moving experience that isn’t tied to one location or one stage, but lives in the concert hall, online, is shared through social media, and we wanted to communicate that in a new mark. We developed the Sound Wave as an abstract “W” that is anything but static. Even in its non-animated form, the mark is energetic and alive with form and color but we see this as just a starting point. The colors and visual elements are meant to be broken apart and reassembled, animated, reinterpreted, in much the same way that a piece of music is.

At this point, this is only a bold concept though we’d love to work with the Westchester Philharmonic to implement the mark, updating their visual identity to match the quality of their performances.
Current Logo

Our “Sound Wave” Update

Branded Watch Faces

Custom Watch Faces

Scope of work: Internal Branding Project

Studio 23 has taken a turn inward and created a set of watch faces for ourselves to test our design skills at a minimalist format. We chose the Amazfit Bip as a platform which is an inexpensive watch that allows for a fair amount of customization and has features for tracking pulse, weather, steps, mileage, and day, date, and of course, time. Working in the small space of a watch face presents many design issues. While the watch can display a lot of data, it became clear early on that as more information is displayed, it became more difficult to read. Unimportant numbers competed with more critical information and, ultimately, we found ourselves gravitating toward simpler, more visual faces. Other metrics are still available via swiping on the watch, but the primary messaging we’ve chosen to display is the time.

We also gravitated to analog faces for their intrinsic simplicity though the we are fond of the digital face with analog second hand. in the middle design. One interesting design note is that since the analog hands are virtual, in some cases we’ve reduced those to a simple marker that travels around the outside of the face rather than a true second hand. This allows us to keep the appearance of an analog watch while introducing something a bit unexpected. We’ve also included our signature orange 23 on several of the faces right where it belongs—between the 2 and the 3. Above are our favorites from the design exercise and if you’d like to download and install any of these faces on your Amazfit Bip, contact us. If you want to see more of our designs, you’ll just have to watch out.

Plotkin Health

Scope of work: Website design and development

Plotkin Health is a company that negotiates pricing for medical procedures between doctors, payers, and insurance companies. After struggling to develop their website in-house, they hired Studio 23 to spearhead the project. We set out to clarify the content to make it consumer-friendly and created a simple video to express the theme of “From Handshake to Handshake.” We implemented the responsive site to optimize user experience across all devices. See the live site ››

Macro Health

MacroHealth

Scope of work: Branding, identity, website

MacroHealth operates as an intermediary between doctors, payers, and insurance companies to establish industry-standard reimbursement rates. As such, the company uses sophisticated technology to crunch data so that providers and payers are treated fairly. Studio 23 created a website that portrays the company as a technology leader in their industry yet explains their process in a way that consumers can easily understand.

Carol Davidsion

Carol Davidson

Scope of work: Branding, identity, marketing collateral, website, email

Carol Davidson, a well-known New York stylist, approached Studio 23 when she wanted to expand her brand and offerings beyond just personal shopping services. We developed a new identity that could be applied across all services she offers—life coaching, personal styling, corporate styling, and stylist training. We then built a website that offers signup for services, virtual services, and to serves as a hub to offer tips and updates to both clients and prospects. See the site ››

Beautyterm/Beautelogie

Beautyterm

Scope of work: Branding, identity, marketing collateral, website

Beautyterm specializes in translations for the beauty and cosmetics industry. Studio 23 was hired to create an identity and system for both their US-based and Paris-based businesses the cornerstone of which is a simple red edit mark. To promote their business and outline their services, Studio 23 created websites in English and French which include a blog and links to all of their social media accounts.

Sarah Bishop Bushwhack Website Design

Sarah Bishop Bushwhack

Scope of work: Branding, identity, marketing collateral, website, email

The Sarah Bishop Bushwhack is an annual 10k trail race in North Salem, New York. Studio 23 created the race identity, website, creates all social media posts, documentary video, and all offline drive-to-site promotions. While we’re proud of the work, Studio 23 owner Lee Willett, a trail runner himself, is one of the race directors for the event so you might say we have a particular passion for this project. See the site ››

JDRF A Mild Sprain Website Development

A Mild Sprain

Scope of work: Website, email

A Mild Sprain is a five-mile trail race in Yonkers, New York. Studio 23 created their website using their existing branding coupled with that of their partner, JDRF, to promote the event and house photos and results from previous years. Since the launch of the website, the race has grown each year and now attracts over 250 runners annually. See the site ››

Le Périgord French Restaurant, New York

Le Perigord restaurant website by Studio 23 / Lee Willett

Le Périgord

Scope of work: Branding, identity, menus, website

Le Périgord is a classic French restaurant located on Manhattan’s midtown east side. Serving customers for over 40 years, the restaurant wanted to attract new and younger clients. Studio 23 tweaked their existing script brand to give it a unified look while retaining its original hand-drawn charm. Next we worked with photographer Evan Sung to take new photos of the interior and food. The website was created to attract customers, outline specials, display menus and wine lists. Social media was employed to reach a younger demographic and we linked the site to local table reservation services to provide even more options for people to find this gem. Unfortunately, a few years after this project was completed, the owners of the restaurant ultimately decided to close their doors.

Jewish Women’s University for a Day

Scope of work: Branding, identity, marketing collateral, website, email

The Jewish Women’s University for a Day was a joint program of The Jewish Theological Seminary and Rice University and offered Jewish women an opportunity to learn about issues that affect them and become agents of change within their communities. The identity was developed to unite across all media and the website was developed to promote the event and offer online registration.