Imagination connects our inner world to the outer one – especially at a young age, as we gradually bridge thoughts and notions to objective happenings. Fictional situations allow safe exploration, and stories teach us about the world, our place in it, social awareness and everything that life is made of. One of the best ways to expand our horizons is watching movies. The visual presentation of slices of life stimulates the heart and mind, creates empathy, connects to human stories, and broadens our emotional range. The Children’s Cinematheque in Holon, Israel, offers a cinematic experience that’s all about kids. Facing growing competition that consists of other cinemas, home streaming services and other general cultural and playful activities, we joined forces and embarked on a hero-journey of a branding process.
Our mission was communicating the unique offer that sets the Children Cinematheque apart from any other cinema or film experience, basing it as a one-of-a-kind attraction creating a special bond with audiences. The place’s unique value proposition is clear and manifests in three plains: it’s inspiring and meaningful, making complex content accessible to both young and older audiences; it’s an emotional experience both individually and collectively, allowing audiences to live an alternative life and by that, enriching their reality; and building a community that revolves around curiosity, discovery and joy. We then positioned the Children Cinematheque as AN EXPERIENTAL AND COMMUNAL ART AND CINEMA CENTER FOR CHILDREN. Its essence is DISCOVERING NEW WORLDS, as it promotes curiosity and exploration, allowing audiences to learn more about themselves, their feelings, different cultures – the world. The brands personality is the loyal, friendly and smart WISE SIDEKICK. This hero-journey already has a protagonist: the children.
Children Cinematheque is a place with clear values. The ones we set for the Children Cinematheque are QUALITY, MAGICAL, ATTENTIVE AND NATURAL, in the authentic sense of it – everything children need to grow. And speaking of growing, the main hall where cinema is shown and cultures unfold, is actually shaped like an EGG! This is brilliant as it’s a sign for warm and safe growth, a secured space for evolving and that constant thrill of being on the cusp of great discoveries.
We absolutely had to use in the visual language we crafted for the Cinematheque. The logo symbol is an egg with the top cracked open, conveying the safe exploration zone along with openness and curiosity. The sharp ends of the egg are used in the visual language as an individual ingredient. We chose two color palettes: one that consists of darker, saturated colors, and one that celebrates pastels – both are lively and fun. The tagline that appears underneath the logo says A PLACE OF IMAGINATION. This captures the physical space, and the visual one we had created.