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Bringing BARDO, a new vocal arts house, to the stage
Client
BARDO
Work
Naming; Positioning; Messaging; Identity; Assets; Web
Team
Tash Richardson (Strategy)
Stephen Royle (Creative)
Dan Forster (Typography)
Zoe Pearson-Coles (Web)
Kind words
"Small Studio helped shape BARDO from its earliest beginnings, from coming up with the name to developing a brilliant and distinctive visual identity. The team's creativity, insight and instinct for what we were trying to achieve were remarkable. I'd wholeheartedly recommend them to anyone starting a venture, who needs help articulating its vision, defining its identity, and bringing it to life."
– Jamie Powe, Founder & Artistic Director
Royal Academy-trained conductor Jamie Powe leads four choirs across the UK. In 2026, he approached us with a challenge: he was founding a new venture staging choral works as immersive theatre, designed to push the boundaries of classical music and bring in more diverse audiences. He had a brilliant creative vision, but no name, no brand, and no way to explain an idea that sat outside existing category definitions.
Together, we nailed what defined this new venture – its position at 'the threshold'. A concept that straddles two art forms. Productions that begin like a normal concert, then turn into something unexpected. Dreamlike staging that dances somewhere between reality and reverie. We distilled this uniqueness into a name – BARDO – the liminal space between one state and the next, while also being a playful nod to the Celtic 'bard', a poet-singer. From there, we coined the term 'vocal arts house' – borrowing from the fashion houses who, like BARDO, become known for a unique style. We developed a clear mission statement ('to build worlds out of voices'), messaging, tone of voice, and an identity to match: otherworldly mirrored letterforms and bold graphic devices that both play with a visual threshold and appear to pulse with sound. The resulting system is compelling, distinctive, and straightforward for the new charity to roll out.
Finally, we got the brand ready for launch. We rallied trustees around the new positioning, developed the website and pitches for venues,donors and grant-makers, and recruited PR and social support. With a fundraising target of £70k for the first production, BARDO is now something Jamie can sell confidently to promoters and donors alike, ahead of its debut in February 2027.
