With 150,000 yearly visits, Rose Theatre is South West London’s largest producing theatre and a key cultural hub. Operating with an outdated brand and website, the theatre initially sought a site refresh. However, it soon became clear that a full brand overhaul was needed to reflect its evolving audience and strategy.
Chaptr was brought on to lead the redesigning of the website, in collaboration with Peppered. During our in-depth UX discovery phase, a need surfaced to refresh the theatre’s brand identity. We aimed to create a cohesive visual language that would enhance audience engagement, modernise the theatre’s public image, and align with its future goals.
We began by conducting in-depth interviews with internal stakeholders, from directors to box office staff, to uncover the theatre’s core values and strategic aspirations. These insights helped shape a brand identity that resonated with both internal teams and the theatre’s audience. As a result, we proposed a two-tier redesign strategy: a brand refresh or a complete identity overhaul. Rose Theatre chose the latter, and we embarked on crafting a modern, flexible, and user-centred identity, one that would resonate with their existing audience while attracting new, younger patrons.
We redesigned Rose Theatre’s brand to feature a modern, adaptable logo and an expanded colour palette, enhancing flexibility and appeal across digital and print platforms for diverse audience segments.
The new identity includes genre-specific stickers for events and consistent branding across all touchpoints, from the website to physical materials, ensuring a cohesive and vibrant visual experience.
Rose Theatre aimed to broaden its appeal beyond its older, upper-middle-class audience to attract a younger, more diverse demographic without alienating core patrons. We created user personas and conducted competitor analysis, comparing the theatre not only to other venues but also to alternative entertainment options like cinemas and streaming services. This approach positioned the theatre as an exciting leisure alternative and ensured the website reflected a balance of content and messaging that appealed to a wider audience.
We engaged key team members and audience members to identify conflicting goals among stakeholders. To unify these objectives, we hosted an interactive UX workshop that informed the new website structure. Our human-centred approach focuses on simplifying navigation, enhancing event discovery, and improving content accessibility, aligning internal goals with user needs.
We partnered with Peppered to design a website tailored to their CMS, specifically built for the unique needs of the arts and culture sector. This collaboration ensured the design seamlessly integrated with the platform’s features while aligning with the theatre’s operational and audience goals.
To enhance visibility and ticket sales for major performances and community events at Rose Theatre, we implemented a tagging system and dynamic showreel for event listings while creating dedicated spaces for smaller events. Additionally, we streamlined the Spektrix booking process, reducing clicks and simplifying the flow, improving user experience and operational efficiency for the box office team.
Donations play a crucial role in keeping the Rose Theatre financially stable. One of our priorities was to create a prominent and intuitive pathway for users to contribute. By adding a clear, bold donation link alongside the ticket purchasing process, we ensured that supporting the theatre is now a straightforward and seamless part of the user journey.
Accessibility was a top priority for Rose Theatre’s website, so we ensured it adhered to best practices. We chose colours and fonts for readability and designed a layout navigable by users of all abilities. The site now meets high accessibility standards, making its content and cultural experiences accessible to everyone.
"The great thing about working with Chaptr is that they earned our trust during CX discovery and workshops, which gave us confidence in the new brand direction and designs they developed for all of our channels and touchpoints. “Trust” is a word that’s overused and undervalued. In Chaptr’s case, it’s the cornerstone of their USP. We are thrilled with what they delivered and have received tremendous feedback from stakeholders and audiences alike. And, yes, we’re selling more tickets as we start a new season."
Alex Chisholm
Marketing Director