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Bright, playful booklet spread for Tall Stories Summer School featuring large “HEY, KID!” lettering and an introduction to the programme, with photos of children’s theatre performances on a bold magenta background.

Tall Stories brand identity and website

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A brand with imagination: refreshing Tall Stories for the next generation of theatre-goers

The challenge

Tall Stories is a nationally and internationally recognised theatre company bringing great stories to life for audiences of all ages. Best known for adapting much-loved children’s books like The Gruffalo, they approached Ave for a refreshed brand and website that would retain familiarity but signal growth and evolution. After 25 years of success with a predominantly family audience, the company was beginning to broaden its offer – producing shows for older children and adults and launching a new studio in Islington.

The brief was to retain equity in the existing logo while making it more flexible and legible, particularly on digital and social platforms. The new identity needed to position Tall Stories as a confident, contemporary company with broad appeal, while still feeling fun, accessible and unmistakably ‘Tall Stories’. Alongside the visual refresh, the team needed a brand new website that would be easier to manage, more clearly present their full programme, and offer integrated booking, e-commerce and donation functionality.

The requirements

  • Refresh the logo to improve legibility and functionality, especially in digital and social media formats
  • Extend the brand toolkit with colour palette, typefaces and visual assets
  • Build a new website with full CMS control, integrated with ticketing, shop and donation systems
  • Develop a flexible, engaging show page design system that allows each production to retain its own visual feel
  • Support SEO, accessibility and e-commerce integration
  • Celebrate Tall Stories’ legacy while future-proofing the brand for its next chapter
Promotional flyer with quote “I don’t want realism. I want magic! Yes, yes, magic!” in bright yellow text on a pink background, overlaid with images from stage performances. The Tall Stories logo sits at the bottom with the strapline “Bringing great stories to life for all ages.”
Tall Stories logo in a white circle with lowercase purple lettering on a vibrant colour-block background in shades of magenta, violet, and plum.

The process

We began with a discovery phase, running stakeholder sessions and reviewing the existing brand and digital platforms to identify opportunities for improvement. Our team produced mood boards and creative directions before developing a series of refreshed logo options – keeping the recognisable Tall Stories logotype but updating it for clarity and scale.

Once a route was selected, we evolved the visual identity, expanding it into a full brand toolkit including typography, colour, image styling and visual motifs. From here, we designed a suite of brand materials and applied the new identity to a full website redesign.

For the website, we undertook a full digital strategy process, including sitemap planning, audience profiling and SEO insight. We built wireframes and developed responsive, accessible interface designs, integrated with the organisation’s chosen ticketing and shop systems. Content modules were designed to allow easy internal updates and flexible page layouts.

Street-level billboard featuring four colourful posters for Tall Stories theatre company. The posters promote summer school and productions using bold graphics, playful type, and energetic quotes. One reads “Who could they become this summer?” beside excited children, while another shows a Tennessee Williams quote: “I don’t want realism. I want magic!”

The solution

The refreshed logo stays true to the original but improves legibility and functionality across all formats, particularly in small-scale use. The brand toolkit allows for confident, creative applications while staying coherent across a broad range of show types and audience groups. The tone feels grown-up without losing the joy and warmth Tall Stories is known for.

The new website reflects the full breadth of the company’s work – from large-scale international touring to local community sessions at their Islington studio. It balances show-stopping visuals with practical navigation and built-in SEO, giving the team a platform that’s as flexible and high quality as the shows they create.

Would you like to see results like these for your organisation?

If you’re interested in finding out more about how we could work together, send us a message and we’ll get back to you.

Let’s talk about how we can help

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