Idyllwild Arts | Idyllwild, CA
“We aren’t just teaching young artists to express themselves. We’re using creativity to teach them to learn to listen. To sing or play in harmony. To find empathy in the stories of others. It’s so far beyond the art itself.”
—FACULTY MEMBER
background
Previously best known for its internationally acclaimed summer programs and its boarding arts high school, Idyllwild Arts is, in fact, a wide-ranging and influential arts organization, comprising numerous innovative programs and institutes. As our initial assessment of Idyllwild Arts’ communications revealed, in order to grow intentionally in every area, the organization needed to embrace and celebrate all of its endeavors through a more unified and compelling brand identity.
All IA programs share one central tenet: that artists play a unique, powerful, even sacred role in their communities. As the only arts academy located on sacred Native ground, IA proclaims that making art for its own sake is insufficient; rather, citizen artists can and must use their creativity to advance the cause of social justice. We therefore created a new governing tagline, What can art change?, which allows the organization to position any and all of its programs as a meaningful answer to this fundamental question.
Further questions, specifically addressed to high-school-age artists, follow: You? Someone else? The world? Each question opens space for the young artist to dream and to ponder, and for the Academy to showcase spectacular student work.
As Idyllwild Arts looks forward to an ambitious capital campaign, we designed an elegant case statement booklet that draws on the design and language of the overall program. The thread-stitched binding and half-sheet, diecut cover create a dramatic and tactile effect—making the booklet a work of art in itself.
The program’s atmospheric color palette reflects the endless possibilities of this institution, and of art itself. The colors come directly from students’ artwork, as well as from the beautiful mountaintop campus.
overview of our partnership
1. ASSESSMENT + ADVICE
To begin our journey together, we dove deeply into IA’s existing communications and conducted market research to assess competitors’ strategies. It was through this process that we surfaced the need to reframe Idyllwild Arts as an intentional and interconnected arts education organization, embracing much more than the well-known high school and summer programs.
2. DISCOVERY + ANALYSIS
We continued the research phase with in-depth qualitative discovery through conversations, interviews, and focus groups with Idyllwild Arts’ administrators, faculty, staff, parents, students, and graduates.
3. INSIGHTS + IMPLICATIONS
We documented the initial findings from our research, including possible starting points for the updated branding program in a report shared with Idyllwild Arts leadership. After workshopping the report with the leadership team, we began developing concepts based on our shared agreement on what makes the entire IA organization unique and essential in the international arts education landscape.
4. BRANDING + MARKETING
Our branding materials center on IA’s foundational commitment to shaping citizen artists of all ages and backgrounds, including but not limited to the high school. An array of print and online materials, including a digital viewbook for the Academy, reveal the extraordinary range and beauty created by all IA artists. The branding program has also formed the foundation for an upcoming capital campaign.
5. ROLLOUT + SUPPORT
To facilitate and sustain the new brand launch, Crane + Peters provided extensive brand guidelines along with ongoing consultation to further assist with the school’s communications. Through our partnership with a digital analytics firm, we also helped IA develop and sustain their social media and online marketing strategies.
