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case study

The Back Room

Services

Brand Identity

Website Design

Digital Marketing

Brand management

Website

the-back-room.org

profile

The Back Room is a live, online event and community forum where authors and readers connect in an intimate, conversational setting.

case study

The Back Room

Services

Brand Identity

Website Design

Digital Marketing

Brand management

Website

the-back-room.org

profile

The Back Room is a live, online event and community forum where authors and readers connect in an intimate, conversational setting.

THE CHALLENGE
The Back Room had a concept that was genuinely distinctive: a literary event with the atmosphere of a speakeasy, intimate and exclusive by design. The challenge was creating a brand that could live up to that concept. The visual identity had to feel evocative and atmospheric without slipping into cliché, and it had to carry consistently across every touchpoint, from the first email a participant receives to the moment they log into the event. As the community grew, the work expanded to include ongoing marketing, live event production, and eventually a new sub-brand for a companion publication.

THE Approach

The design direction drew on the speakeasy era as genuine inspiration rather than a costume: saturated colors, dramatic mood, and typography and iconography that nod to Art Deco. The goal was a brand with its own distinct world that makes the audience feel like theyhave found something special. That same philosophy guides the ongoing marketing work: every email, social post, and event graphic is built to extend the atmosphere of the brand, not just announce an event.
THE CHALLENGE
The Back Room had a concept that was genuinely distinctive: a literary event with the atmosphere of a speakeasy, intimate and exclusive by design. The challenge was creating a brand that could live up to that concept. The visual identity had to feel evocative and atmospheric without slipping into cliché, and it had to carry consistently across every touchpoint, from the first email a participant receives to the moment they log into the event. As the community grew, the work expanded to include ongoing marketing, live event production, and eventually a new sub-brand for a companion publication.

THE Approach

The design direction drew on the speakeasy era as genuine inspiration rather than a costume: saturated colors, dramatic mood, and typography and iconography that nod to Art Deco. The goal was a brand with its own distinct world that makes the audience feel like theyhave found something special. That same philosophy guides the ongoing marketing work: every email, social post, and event graphic is built to extend the atmosphere of the brand, not just announce an event.

Brand Building

The inspiration was the speakeasies of the 1920s: a private, atmospheric world where the audience feels like they have found something special.

Event Creative

Each event is supported by a suite of branded assets: a custom intro video, event slides, and social media announcements creating a cohesive feel from start to finish.

Substack

In 2026, we extended the brand by launching After Hours at The Back Room, a Substack featuring author profiles, book recommendations, and exclusive video content.

The work

Brand identity design established the visual language, color palette, and typographic system rooted in the speakeasy aesthetic. The website was built to carry the brand’s saturated palette in a way that feels bold but never heavy, with a custom registration system and integrated add-to-calendar feature to create a seamless experience from sign-up to event day.

Ongoing marketing and event support includes branded email campaigns covering seasonal announcements and event reminders; platform-specific social media graphics for event announcements, season kick-offs, and day-of content; and curated vintage imagery of Old Hollywood stars reading, which keeps the feed engaging and reinforces the speakeasy aesthetic between events.

Custom waiting room videos and event graphics extend the brand experience into the live event itself, setting the tone from the moment participants log in. Technical event production covers speaker management, breakout room coordination, and moving authors smoothly between sessions, so the technology stays invisible and the conversation stays intimate.

Sub-brand design

In 2026, The Back Room launched After Hours at the Back Room, a private Substack featuring author profiles, event recaps, book recommendations, and exclusive video interviews. Dionne Design Studio created the After Hours sub-brand: a visual identity that plays off the original palette while introducing new elements that give the publication its own presence. Ongoing Substack support includes writing and publishing book recommendation roundups and author profiles, along with corresponding social media graphics.

The Outcome

The Back Room has a brand that feels as distinctive and carefully considered as the event itself. Every touchpoint, from the first marketing email to the live event waiting room to the Substack inbox, carries the same atmosphere and signals the same quality. When After Hours launched, it extended that world rather than diluting it.

(testimonial)