A YORK design agency has made a great start to 2013 after launching new branding for the English National Ballet.

The Beautiful Meme won the tender for the high-profile national project to create a new brand identity for the organisation under its new artistic director, world-renowned ballet dancer Tamara Rojo.

The company has also worked with fellow York creative companies on the work, designing a website, which has been created by Isotoma, and film company Orillo Productions has also made online teaser films.

Tom Sharp, creative director of The Beautiful Meme, based in Walmgate, said they were rolling out the new brand identity across all the English National Ballet’s material and had developed an advertising campaign for the London Underground and broadsheet newspapers, styled by Vivienne Westwood.

Tom said: “We’re working with some of the finest creatives in the world, that’s the most exciting thing. Tamara Rojo is one of the world’s greatest ballerinas so collaborating with someone of that calibre is really exciting.”

Tom said the English National Ballet was very clear about its mission – to be the “most creative and most loved ballet company in the UK and to dance in order to conjure wonderful, beautiful visions and because they had something to say.”

Tom said: “‘We have something to say’ was the starting point for our brand identity. A logo that is both opening quotation marks and ballet shoes en pointe, with a dash of Bauhaus (a big influence on Tamara) aesthetic thrown in. It means that all that follows the logo – be it imagery, words or dance – is part of the artistic statement the company is making.

“Collaboration is a key part of the brand positioning we created, and the identity is built upon working with different creatives, fashion houses, artists and photographers each season.”

The first collaboration is with Vivienne Westwood, who has provided the clothes for the advertising campaign designed by The Beautiful Meme.

“Guy Farrow shot this first campaign and our art direction was as much about bringing his rich, sensual style to the adverts as it was about celebrating the dancers,” said Tom.

The company also collaborated with font specialist Dalton Maag.