The Irish Dance Teachers Association of North America
Brand Identity
The Challenge
The Irish Dance Teachers Association of North America (IDTANA) is the governing body for Irish dance teachers in North America, representing three countries, seven regions, and over 1,000 dance teachers, and the North American branch of An Coimisiún le Rincí Gaelacha (CLRG) – the largest, oldest, and most elite Irish dance organization worldwide. Recovering from the devastating effects of COVID on competitive Irish dance, IDTANA needed a complete brand overhaul including a new logo, colors, and fonts, along with a mission statement and brand strategy to reflect its commitment balancing its proud commitment to Irish tradition with modernization, and progress, and to welcome new dancers of all backgrounds into the world of Irish dance.
Industry
Sports, Arts & Culture
Services Provided
Brand Design
Strategy
Copywriting
Photographic Art Direction
Based In
The United States, Canada, and Mexico
Featured Collaborator
Silpa Sadhujan, Photographer
The Solution
Effortlessly straddling the line between sport and art, Irish dance is a modern, innovative, and welcoming activity with a strong community surrounding it and a lifetime of opportunity to offer. Speaking to both potential dancers and current ones, we communicated these values through bold, bright, and dynamic design inspired by modern athletic imagery, the principles of diversity, the art form’s proud cultural roots, and the steps of Irish dance itself. The resulting brand suite is sleek, colorful, and forward-thinking – clearly communicating the art form behind it while inviting potential dancers to explore the infinite possibilities ahead.
Logo
Inspired by the fluid motions of a ceili dance, the logo uses emblematic Irish dancing imagery to create a unique and modern symbol that embodies inclusion, continuity, and welcoming. The three loops represent the three countries of IDTANA and are shaped like location markers, further solidifying the geographical connection. Open ends symbolize welcoming and continuity, and the inclusion of three pieces in a figure set up for four invites the viewer to join in the dance and complete the figure. This shape lightly alludes to Celtic knotwork while being modern and distinctive, embodying the literal motion of dance and the forward-thinking attitude of IDTANA and Irish dance today.
Colors
IDTANA’s new core color scheme is drawn from the flags of its three member countries. All three flags feature red and white, with only Mexico’s containing green, only the United States’ containing blue, and Canada flying red as its main color. The resulting color scheme, as reflected in the logo, highlights all three countries, with green for Mexico, blue for the United States, and red for Canada. In addition to celebrating the three member countries, these colors also represent the RGB color model, through which all red, green, and blue light can be combined to create the full-color spectrum. These colors celebrate the infinite spectrum of Irish dancers and highlight IDTANA’s commitment to welcoming and inclusion. The secondary color scheme supports this commitment, filling out the spectrum to add depth and vibrance.
Primary
USA Blue
Hex
#69CFD4
RGB
R105 G207 B212
CMYK C62 M0 Y8 K0
Pantone Coated
PMS 636 C
Pantone Uncoated
PMS 630 U
Primary
Canada Red
Hex
#EB140A
RGB
R235 G20 B10
CMYK C0 M95 Y100 K0
Pantone Coated
PMS 485 C
Pantone Uncoated
PMS 485 U
Primary
Mexico Green
Hex
#008F5C
RGB
R0 G143 B92
CMYK C82 M0 Y67 K11
Pantone Coated
PMS 7724 C
Pantone Uncoated
PMS 347 U
Secondary
Orange
Hex
#F07A00
RGB
R240 G112 B0
CMYK C0 M67 Y100 K0
Pantone Coated
PMS 7578 C
Pantone Uncoated
PMS 114 U
Secondary
Yellow
Hex
#FFC400
RGB
R255 G196 B0
CMYK C0 M12 Y98 K0
Pantone Coated
PMS 122 C
Pantone Uncoated
PMS 7404 U
Secondary
Purple
Hex
#5C4580
RGB
R92 G69 B128
CMYK C80 M74 Y0 K0
Pantone Coated
PMS 7670 C
Pantone Uncoated
PMS 2745 U
Neutral
Light Blue
Hex
#EBF2ED
RGB
R235 G242 B237
CMYK C7 M1 Y3 K2
Neutral
Teal
Hex
#034754
RGB
R3 G71 B84
CMYK C89 M141 Y0 K56
Neutral
Tan
Hex
#FFFeF9
RGB
R255 G254 B249
CMYK C0 M0 Y2 K0
Neutral
Black
Hex
#2B2B2B
RGB
R43 G43 B43
CMYK C32 M13 Y3 K90
Neutral
White
Hex
#FFFFFF
RGB
R255 G255 B255
CMYK C0 M0 Y0 K0
Copywriting
"An incredible workout, a beautiful art form, a lifetime of community, and a world of performance opportunity – no matter what you are looking for, Irish dance has an opportunity for you."
Why Irish Dance?
IDTANA.org
Type
Bold, stylized headlines are balanced by soft italic subheads and neutral, modern, easy-to-read sans-serif body copy. Together the look is modern, sleek, and broadly accessible, balancing athleticness and art in the spirit of the sport it represents.
Slogan
IDTANA’s slogan needed to reflect its position as both North America’s Irish dance leader and the primary resource for potential and current Irish dancers in the US, Canada, and Mexico. The resulting slogan is a guiding light for IDTANA leadership and a commitment to its dancers, to uphold and promote Irish dancing in North America while providing the tools for its continued growth and evolution.
Texture
An evolved version of the logo, with three intertwining strands, this subtle overlay adds depth and texture to IDTANA-branded materials, maintaining subtle branding through otherwise flat backgrounds.
Photographic Art Direction
To support our brand design, we teamed up with iconic Irish dance photographer Silpa Sadhujan to develop an extensive photo library to show off Irish dance itself. Beginning with an extensive nationwide model search, we held a photoshoot over two days in New York City featuring diverse dancers from three Irish dancing regions of all ages and levels. We worked with both Silpa and our models to ensure that the final photos showcased not just the immense talent of our dancers but also the rich colors of our new branding and the values of IDTANA as an organization.
To ensure we highlighted dancers from as many regions as possible, we also held a nation-wide content search to source beautiful dance photography from around the country. All photos across the website are integrated with the IDTANA logo, to showcase the ways in which Irish dance enhances and supports our dancers’ journey through life.
