Southern Vermont Ballet

Role: Designer

Throughout my career, crafting a brand has always been a deeply connective passion as a creator. Getting to know individuals looking to build a business or product from the ground up sparks all kinds of inspiration in my creative process, typically starting by putting pen to paper and exploring ideas that could work for various placements and marketing campaigns. Working closely with Hayley at Southern Vermont Ballet, I started with basics: What are you looking to do? What kind of business are you hoping to grow? Getting to know her passions and intents as a new business owner offered a wide variety of opportunities.

She was aiming for a branded storefront on a main street in Manchester Vermont. Her studio would have high visibility by people both local and visiting, coming through a well-travelled thoroughfare towards shopping centers and ski resorts. The branding would stretch across printed and digital marketing. Merchandise was a main goal, knowing young dancers and their families would appreciate a physical connection to the studio through branded aesthetics. Signage, clothing, and digital comms were all part of her new venture.

Sketches, palettes and early logo exploration leading towards final treatment.

Storefront mock up of the original location of Southern Vermont Ballet on the corner of Depot and Cottage St, Manchester Center, Vermont.

For inspiration, Hayley shared photos of herself as a dancer and other color and textural references to spark ideas and concepts. Roughing through ideas both analog and digital, primary logos developed, and through our conversations my sketches shaped into the eventual solidification of the brand identity – a silhouette of a leaping dancer, inspired by Hayley’s own experience as a performer, paired with a clean logotype transferrable to various placements and treatments. Her focused and intentional feedback on specific forms and positioning helped shape the final visual. SVB was born, and Hayley’s brand had a distinct visual foundation to support it.

SVB Hero Logo 2 Up

Southern Vermont Ballet hero logo showing light and dark states

SVB Logotype 2 Up

Southern Vermont Ballet horizontal logotype showing light and dark states

SVB Initials Logotype 2 Up

Southern Vermont Ballet initials logotype showing light and dark states

For the studio’s five year anniversary, Hayley requested iterative updates to expand the logotype and the dancer silhouette, specifically to provide a new and exciting visual for her studio swag. Initially requesting a circular lockup, she also left the door open to any other ideas I might want to explore. Working through a number of original digital illustrations, I eventually landed in a space featuring the outline of the state of Vermont with a knockout of the SVB dancer. After her feedback, we landed on a fresh and exciting new visual for the 2025 holiday season.

SVB swag logo exploration for the 2025 holiday season.

At the beginning of her venture, Southern Vermont Ballet kicked off with a studio of about 30 students. As of early 2026, the studio has grown to over 200 students, providing opportunities for young dancers to participate in weekly lessons as well as annual holiday- and spring-oriented shows.