Brandon Shannelly
The striking graphics that help bring Simcoe Little Theatre’s 2026/27 Season to life were created by Brandon, a member of the SLT Leadership Committee and an accomplished graphic designer. From concept to final design, Brandon played a key role in shaping the visual look of the season. We asked him to share more about the creative journey behind the artwork and what inspired him to contribute his skills to the theatre.
SLT: Share a bit about yourself and your work as a graphic designer.
Brandon: I’ve been designing for more than 20 years, professionally for the past five. I love working on just about any project – whether that’s developing accessible font and colour systems or creating a brand identity for a heavy metal band. I really enjoy exploring new art styles and always welcome a creative challenge. More than anything, I love working with people to help bring their vision to life.
SLT : Can you walk us through your design process, from talking to the directors, learning about the show, to producing the final poster?
Brandon: For me, it always starts with the directors. Before I touch a sketch, I connect with them to talk through their vision for the show – what they want the audience to feel before they’ve even walked through the door. That conversation shapes everything that follows, and from there, I dive straight into research and rough layouts. I’ll usually look at colour schemes, typefaces, and composition styles to keep the design era-appropriate and true to the production. This season, I also wanted the posters to feel like part of a family, so I settled on a consistent placement for the Simcoe Little Theatre name across all three designs – something that ties the season together even though each poster tells its own story. Once that groundwork is in place, it’s time actually to draw and colour the piece. This is usually the longest stage, and it’s also my favourite – watching a poster go from a rough concept into a finished piece of art that reflects both the show and the director’s vision is the most rewarding part of the whole process.
SLT: You designed posters for three very different productions this season. How did you approach creating a unique visual identity for each show?
Brandon: The approach I took for each show poster was essentially the same, with minor tweaks here and there. With each design, research was the first step – exploring colour schemes, typefaces and layouts – and ensuring that everything fit with the production.
With Shrek the Musical, we had a very recognizable logo to work with, and Lorraine Deming, the show’s director, already had a strong vision for her musical, so we stuck with that vision from beginning to end. The goal was to let the logo do the real heavy lifting by giving it space to shine, and we achieved that by settling on a dark background and thin, hand-drawn-style fonts to support that big, bright, beautiful logo.
Forever Plaid and Office Hours received slightly different treatment in the logo design because I was creating something brand new for the shows. After speaking with Forever Plaid directors Tony and Michelle Proracki, we knew right away that the musical’s visual identity absolutely needed two things: jackets and plaid. Other than those elements, I was working with a blank canvas, but rather than creating something completely new, I wanted to pay homage to the original poster design while giving it my own touch. The musical is back by popular demand, it’s a show that has a certain sense of comfort to it, and I thought the design should convey that comfortable feel. The original used nice bright colours and really nailed the 1950s look, and so I wanted to emulate that. I relied heavily on the original colour scheme of blue, red and yellow, and approached the logo similarly, but just softened everything a bit. I also wanted to add some subtle symbolism to the design to keep things interesting. Everything was done with the story in mind – from the fonts in the logo to the jacket placement.
Office Hours was the design that I spent the most time developing, but it was also the most rewarding. Show director Nancy Gibbs Gilbert and I had a few great discussions about the play, and I got to learn a lot about her vision for the production. The entire show revolves around six vignettes that take place throughout a not-so-average workday, and we wanted to capture that in the poster design. So, I used this as an opportunity to do some illustration and drew an office building with the six illuminated windows that feature snapshots of the vignettes. Just like the show, you don’t quite know about everything that is going on but you’re eager to find out. It was really fun to see the whole thing come together from start to finish. What started as research into old office buildings and different types of ambient lighting ended up as a piece of artwork that I’m very happy with and, more importantly, one that brought Nancy’s vision to life.
SLT: Is there a particular poster or design element from this season that you’re especially proud of?
Brandon: The poster for Office Hours is something I’m especially proud of because I really got to build it from the ground up. Aside from the fonts, every part of the poster art is illustrated by hand, and I love any opportunity to pull out the tablet and stylus and get lost in a piece of artwork.
SLT: Volunteers play a vital role at Simcoe Little Theatre. What has your experience been like working with the theatre community, and how else are you involved at Simcoe Little Theatre?
Brandon: My experience working with the theatre community has been wonderful. In addition to the design work I’ve done, I’ve had the opportunity to serve on the leadership committee, and I’ll be taking the stage for the first time this fall in Shrek the Musical. Getting to sit in on discussions with people who all share a deep passion for theatre has been equal parts fun and rewarding. As a newer member of the community, it’s been incredible getting to know the people who help make the magic happen and to see their dedication to keeping the arts alive in Simcoe.
