Upstate Films
Taylor Schultz
I used to live in the Hudson Valley, and I loved the vibe of this local indie cinema called Upstate Films.
Every time I drove past their sign in downtown Rhinebeck, I'd catch myself exploring a tasteful design update in my head. Eventually I stopped just thinking about it and sent them a concept pitch.
To my surprise, they were receptive, and that turned into redoing not just the word mark, but building out a larger identity system and various assets.
The Work
The goal was never to throw out what people already loved. Upstate has decades of history and a sign locals love and recognize, so the job was to update it without making it feel new more of a natural next step than a reinvention. I kept the historic and legacy elements intact and let the rest evolve around them.
From the wordmark, it grew into a larger design system. Including an expanded typography system, identity work for the individual theaters, and a set of web card system for their different programs so each strand of programming had its own consistent look.
Upstate has expanded into a third and fourth location, the historic Orpheum Theatre, and Kingston's Midtown Theatre.
It is exciting to see Upstate become a real platform for artists and filmmakers in the Hudson Valley and to have played a small part in how it looks doing it.
