The Edinburgh Chamber Orchestra was founded in 1946 by violinist Theodore di Marco (Theo) and her twin sister Norma (a cellist), during their time studying at Edinburgh University.

Following her death in 2021, Theo’s love for the orchestra she once founded was marked by a generous bequest in her will. In honour of her memory, the committee and members of EChO agreed to invest in creating the orchestra’s first official logo and brand identity, as well as a new modern website design and build.

The brief was to create a brand identity that struck a balance between honouring the history of the orchestra, whilst also feeling contemporary. The main goals of this project were to raise the profile of the orchestra, elevate their presentation to the general public, and attract new members of all ages — particularly younger musicians.

For the logo design, I decided to take a ‘responsive’ approach. The orchestra loved the concept of rebranding as ‘EChO’ — however, there were concerns that not everyone would know who they were with this alone. As a result, I created versions of the logo that also included ‘Edinburgh Chamber Orchestra’ in responsive logo variations, to provide clarity in touch points that it would be required. As a chamber orchestra is formed of string instruments, I designed a logomark that leant into this. Based on the letter ‘O’ for ‘orchestra’, it is tweaked into the silhouette of a violin on the left, with an elegant fan of ‘strings’ or ‘echo’ on the right.

The final result is a sophisticated, versatile logo and wider brand identity — one which elevates the organisation and presents them as the brilliant orchestra that they are.