No one can deny the beauty and magic of a top-level ballet performance, but the art can seem too high-market for some people. Bruce Mau Design set out to change this misconception for its client, National Ballet of Canada.

BMD designers discovered through research that new audiences hesitate to attend the ballet because they don’t know what to expect. So they created a new wordmark that helps fill in the information gap. The new logo, set in lowercase Haffer, can also serve as a storytelling device when it is followed by a teaser or query. Those few added words draw the viewer in and him or her know what to expect.

The wordmark has a distinct balance and elegance, much like the dancers it represents.