Unscripted. Unpredictable. Unplanned.
The X + Y =
Blending an unpredictable live concept, a bold brand identity, and an energised immersive design, we unlocked a new audience for IMAX Live.
Agency: Dixon Baxi
Develop the name
Brand Idea
Visual Identity
A fleeting kind of brilliance.
IMAX approached design consultancy DixonBaxi to brand their latest project, IMAX Live.
It reinvents the concept of venues by turning cinemas into arenas, stages, lecture halls, and more, offering a true blend of screen entertainment and live experience. An entirely new way for fans around the world to engage with their favourite visionaries. Speak with them. And challenge them. Each one-night-only event has a limited number of tickets, with no replay, making them as coveted as they are elusive. A concept that is a direct challenge to today’s instant playback culture.
DixonBaxi contracted me to establish the core idea in the brand system. IMAX, the bravest of clients, wanted to radically change perceptions for their live offer. And create a gravitational pull that shifted the entire IMAX master brand into the future. I began with a simple question: what does a fleeting live moment feel like?
We soon entered insightful discussions with IMAX President Megan Colligan and Global Chief Marketing Officer Denny Tu, and quickly uncovered the brand’s potential to flourish through unpredictability. And the allure of fleeting encounters. These moments, ephemeral yet powerful, had the potential to leave a lasting imprint on an audience.
“There is huge equity in the fleeting ticket. It’s a snapshot moment in time."
Megan Colligan
IMAX President
The idea.
With the world at our fingertips through streaming services and digital downloads, the excitement and anticipation that once defined our cultural experiences have been overshadowed by a buffet of endless choices. – a buffet of instant playback. So my intention was to recapture that transient magic that defined entertainment long before digital overturned the analogue order. A time that thrived on the build-up and collective excitement of was immense.
Much like a speakeasy that thrived on the very notion of anticipation and the thrill of discovery. I wanted to frame IMAX Live like a modern-day, dynamic speakeasy. Secretive and exclusive. And set it up to rediscover the thrill of anticipation and communal discovery.
The brand idea was designed to create a forum where artists and audience can thrive. Experience the elusive, and exclusive. It’s designed to foreground talent and the unexpected, fleeting moment. This approach aims to capture the raw, unpredictable essence of cultural experiences, and reboot the thrill for the digital era.
“IMAX Live has a mystique of potential. Eclectic programming, unpredictable experiences.”
Denny Tu
Global Chief Marketing Officer
A vessel for the artist.
The design team put that
fleetingness into motion.
Using a grid set to the 1.43:1 IMAX ratio, the design team created an identity system that pushes IMAX into the future while paying homage to its monolithic masterbrand. The new logo is bold, confident, and unpredictable, combining the iconic IMAX logotype with a new, hyper-bold LIVE word mark that’s double the size. Nostra, a broad, monospaced font rooted in the IMAX ratio grid, gracefully takes the back stage, forming a vast yet unobtrusive vessel. Its grand, monolithic letters elevate artist, placing them squarely in the spotlight.
Orchestrating immersive encounters.
The final range of motion behaviours the team built were immersive. Highly vivacious. Central to conveying the energy of live events, they plunged viewers into larger-than-life lettering, logo, and jaw-dropping visuals. There’s a sense of spring-coiled energy that comes from the push and pull of the animation, building suspense and awe as footage flickers to life or consumes the entire screen.
All geared for that fleeting drama that’s
always moving – and gone in the blink of an eye.
