Clued In is a highly successful improvised comedy show that performs out of Second City in Chicago, Illinois.

‍THE PROBLEM‍Their current marketing materials were dated, did not showcase the theme effectively, and lacked the playful humor of the show. They were not selling out their shows and needed larger audiences. Additionally they needed to be able to easily edit promotional material and switch out cast members, without doing a never ending combination of group photos.
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‍THE PITCH
‍By capitalizing on the built in fan base of the board game and movie Clue and embracing the nostalgia surrounding the game, we could create photos and graphics that evoked the original playing cards in the game. The expressions of the actors ad bold colors  would draw people into the graphics while showcasing the diversity of the cast, range of emotions in the show, and highlight the premise with murder weapons in plain view.

‍THE PHOTOS

During the photoshoot, I directed each cast member to evoke a variety of emotions, poses, and weapons so that the final choices could show the distinct personalities of each person.
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Since I shot on a green screen, for the final portraits, I visually I created monochromatic color schemes for each cast member to emphasis their portrayal of "Mr. Green" or "Ms. White" and was able to color match exactly to their outfit. Each card has simple elements of art deco inspiration and plays with layering to help the portrait stand out. The show uses these portraits on playing cards each show to draw roles for the actors like detective.

THE WALLPAPER
‍The show needed a new step and repeat background for their audience to take photos with. So I created a custom illustrated repeating patterned wallpaper, styled in the show's setting of early 1900s. I first created a pattern that included objects from their show like the magnifying glass, famous Chicago landmarks like the Art Institute lions, and elements from improv at Second City like the notorious Bentwood chairs. I then hand drew each illustration with an ink pen and scanned the drawings into illustrator and then edited the graphics for maximum readability. I created a custom color pattern and added in additional texture and depth.

THE POSTER
‍Bringing the photos and the wallpaper together, I created a poster resembling framed portraits in a would be murder mystery mansion! I fleshed out the poster with additional frames to make the wall feel full but maintain the focus on the portraits, and added in texture and layers to give the poster depth.

THE RESULT
‍Through this project, I was able to refocus the brand into a more playful, thematic, and eye catching visual direction. The photos also allowed a cohesion when announcing their casting for specific shows - since every cast member has a portrait - instead of disjointed levels of quality in headshots.

CluedIn is now able to use those portraits across social media platforms- highlighting what cast members will be performing each night.

The patterned wallpaper has proven extremely useful and is currently being used as a photobooth backdrop for the company, for social media posts, and in email campaigns.  

Before the campaign they were selling at 55% capacity with 130 seats and afterwards, CluedIn had a completely sold out run with 100% capacity and 240 tickets sold for their show Second City. They have also significantly increased social media follower count 178%, almost doubling, and been featured guests on Spotlight Chicago.