Silkroad
Medium
Role
Digital
Creative Advisor
Category
Branding
Challenge
Founded by renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma, Silkroad is a cultural nonprofit rooted in music.
Galvanized by the historical interchange of ideas and cross-border innovation, Ma brought together musicians from the lands of the Silk Road.
Originally named the Silk Road Project, its award-winning, international ensemble was the start of what would later become an arts, education, and social impact organization.
The aim was to capitalize on momentum around the 15th anniversary celebrations and redesign the Silk Road Project's brand identity.
"The Project is designed for evolution and innovation."
— Silkroad interviewee
Process
The rebranding sought to capture the Project’s original alchemy and communicate its relevance to the arts, education, and cultural entrepreneurship.
Our team at Imagination, a global and award-winning creative agency, interviewed ensemble musicians, staff, and board members.
Conversations revealed the Project's history, evolution, strengths, pain points, and goals. From these, we distilled key details about the organization’s current state and its hopes for the future.
Solution
Inspired by the past, we started with the historical Silk Road’s physical route. Overlaying a depiction of sound waves represented the Project’s first artistic medium.
This created an integrated symbol of cultural exchange.
We crafted new language to express the expanded vision, which provided an organizational guide and a framework for the color palette. Through this process we evaluated the Project's name and meaning.
The Silk Road Project became Silkroad.
The completed redesign is an amplified, visual embodiment of Silkroad's origins, values, evolution, and mission.