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Graphic Designer Rachele Dunn joined Scottish Ballet in 2019. As our in-house designer, she helps to create all of our production campaigns, which includes designing artwork for print and digital, from appeal leaflets to our theatre souvenir programmes and this magazine! Rachele is from a little town called Hamilton, where she lives with her dog, Fred.

What is graphic design?

At its core, I would say graphic design is about communication. Combining the elements of typography, image and colour to put a message across.

When did you first become interested in graphic design?

I’ve always been arty. I was interested in history at school but kept coming back to art. When I was 16, I went to an open day at Glasgow School of Art (GSA) and realised that being a designer was a viable career.

How did you become a Graphic Designer?

I applied to GSA and was accepted to the Communication Design course, where I focused on graphic design in my final two years. GSA students are encouraged to be conceptual, it’s a real melting pot of creativity.

After graduating, I was Designer in Residence at Glasgow Women’s Library. When I came to the end of the residency, I saw the job at Scottish Ballet. I remember thinking it was a dream job for a graphic designer.

What makes being a graphic designer for a ballet company special?

The photography. From behind-the-scenes to production, every picture is just a dream to work with. One of my favourite parts of my job is to help Brand Creative Lead, Eve McConnachie, and CEO/Artistic Director, Christopher Hampson, come up with the concept for the lead image we use to promote a production.

What are the challenges of your job?

The seasons are quick. As soon as the campaign has launched for one ballet, we’re on to the next ballet, and the one after that.

What have been some highlights of your time with Scottish Ballet so far?

The autumn 2021 issue of Backstage magazine marked the launch of a new visual language which I have been helping to develop. For me, Backstage is the rebellious little sister of our theatre souvenir programme. It says, ‘Come a bit closer and see what we do’. The Nutcracker theatre programme in 2021 was the first printed programme in two years. We switched everything to digital at the start of the pandemic and worked hard to give the best quality through digital platforms, but there’s something special about print.

If you had to pick one favourite Scottish Ballet image, what would it be and why?

There’s so many to choose from, but I’d say the lead image for Starstruck would be at the top. The concept was for Aphrodite to sit on a cloud. Initially, we thought we’d need to add in clouds digitally. But on the photoshoot day, the Technical Team used a special smoke machine, resulting in a real-life cloud for Principal, Sophie Martin to ‘sit’ on. Everyone on set cheered when the cloud appeared.

What are you looking forward to working on with Scottish Ballet in 2022?

Coppélia premiering at the Edinburgh International Festival in August. I don’t think anyone has seen this ballet done in the way Scottish Ballet are going to present it. I haven’t stopped thinking about the mood board created by the choreographers, Jess & Morgs. It’s going to wow everyone.