The problem was to recast the brand image of the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA) in San Francisco through the launch of the YBCA:You program. YBCA:You offered an all-access pass to the center, providing participants with both intimate and social vehicles to engage with art—including personal docent tours, exclusive VIP events with artists and complimentary admission to various YBCA events.

The campaign’s tone had to strike a balance between accessible and sophisticated—“friendly hip, not hipster hip”—in the manner for which YBCA is known. The intent was to attract audiences who might not be familiar or comfortable with YBCA’s offerings while not alienating or “talking down” to YBCA’s core art-savvy audience.

Lastly, the campaign identity would need to be used over many months—possibly even years—so it required a richness and depth that could be sustained over a significant period of time.

Read the full case study with juror comments here: [http://www.aiga.org/case-study-ybca-you-campaign/]

YBCA:You is a brash and brilliant in-your-face campaign that chooses to champion the people who come to see and experience the art. I was lucky to see some of this campaign while I was in San Francisco, and I was astonished how quickly the imagery rose above the clutter of the city and struck an emotional cord. Kudos to YBCA for providing ethnographic research to the design team and embracing the communal and social aspects of art. —Alina Wheeler