Too small

Browser needs to be wider!

About

These guidelines have been created by the Barbican Studio, which is the in-house design team at the Barbican Centre, London. The Studio creates most of the visual material for the Centre. It is based in the Marketing Department and consists of four permanent designers.

The current structure of the design team was created in 2011 and coincides with a major rebranding project undertaken by North. The philosophy of the team is based on the visual guidelines North created at the time. These set out a flexible system influenced by the Centre’s vision of ‘arts without boundaries’ and includes strong visual elements that allow freedom and diversity.

For further information contact design@barbican.org.uk

Browse

Chapter
0.0 Our Voice 1.0 Invite 2.0 Show 3.0 Passion 4.0 Examples 5.0 Recap 6.0 Accessibility
Page
0.0.1 Intro 0.0.2 Values 0.0.3 Principles
1.0.1 Intro 1.0.2 Everyday 1.0.3 Personal 1.0.4 Shorten 1.0.5 Artspeak 1.0.6 Test
2.0.1 Imagine 2.0.2 Attention 2.0.3 Start 2.0.4 Concise 2.0.5 Qualifiers
3.0.1 Intro 3.0.2 Tell 3.0.3 Ask 3.0.4 Rhythm 3.0.5 Variety
4.0.1 Intro 4.0.2 Homepage 4.0.3 Season 4.0.4 Advert 4.0.5 Notice 4.0.6 Invite 4.0.7 Poster 4.0.8 Hire 4.0.9 Response 4.1.0 Report 4.1.1 Exhibition
5.0.1 Audiences 5.0.2 Cheatsheet
6.0.1 Language 6.0.2 Jargon 6.0.3 Headings 6.0.4 Links 6.0.5 Opinions 6.0.6 Images
Intro

What is brand voice and why is it important for the Barbican?

From our website to our season brochures, language is a big part of how people experience the Barbican.

We call this our brand voice. It’s the way we sound, across everything we say and write.

Our voice says a lot about who we are. If we sound stuffy or intimidating, people will see us that way.



But if our voice sounds open and inviting, we’ll:

  • change the way people see us
  • bring more people into the Barbican
  • give audiences a more consistent experience
Our
Voice
0.0.1
Values

Our conviction and values

Where does our voice come from? From our conviction, and our values.

Most people outside of the Barbican will never see these words. But they should feel them — in everything we say and write.

Our conviction is:
We believe in creating spaces and ideas for people to connect

We are:
Brave. Open. Connected. Sustainable.



  • Brave
  • Open
  • Connected
  • Sustainable
  • Breaking new ground, doing the things others wouldn’t
  • Always striving to be of, by and for all
  • Reflecting today’s world, building meaningful partnerships
  • Being smart about doing business, embracing future ways of working
Our
Voice
0.0.2
Principles

Our voice principles

We’re a big team, doing lots of different things for lots of different people.

But whether it’s writing to an art lover, school teacher or corporate partner, our language needs to:





We call these our voice principles.

Over the next few pages, you’ll learn more about what they mean — with quick tips and examples to bring them into your writing.

Our
Voice
0.0.3