Case Study : The Kraken Theatre Logo Design

Final logo for The Kraken Theatre, Hope Bay, British Columbia

The Kraken Theatre is a theatre & performance venue on Pender Island, British Columbia that hired me to illustrate a logo to be used on signage, posters, and possibly t-shirts and stickers. The main goal was to develop a marquee that incorporated a kraken (for obvious reasons) and would be reminiscent of an old Hollywood sign. To achieve this, I first explored signage from different eras to get a feel for how they were designed and what elements I might use to give my logo that same kind of feel. In my research, I was heavily drawn to signs of the art deco era, with their beautifully ornate detailing and the big obnoxious bulbs that made the sign really pop. After some exploration sketches and a review by the client, the sketch below was the one that was approved.

Original sketch of The Kraken Theatre logo

In this sketch, I wanted to the Kraken to serve two purposes; 1 - to represent the creature while also feeling independent of the main sign, and 2 - to allow me to create a unique overall shape by using the limbs to curve and curl around the main sign without consuming it. Thinking big-picture, I wanted to illustrate the tentacles in a way that would serve as lights, if they were to ever build an actual sign.

Retro-inspired colours were chosen to fall inline with the vintage-feel and a whimsical font was used to further compliment the Kraken and the location of the theatre; By the ocean. 

When I started illustrating it digitally, I had to reconsider the amount of detail in it and how that would scale down on a letterhead or business card. Due to the fact it wouldn't have scaled well, much of the detailing in the sketch had to be removed.

Digital illustration in progress

Black and white outline

Colour profile and full colour logo