The Drum, a national centre for black British arts and culture, recently hired the services of Big Cat to provide them with marketing and event strategies, and give their building a bit of a renovation. The aim was to attract more businesses to use the conference facilities and compete more effectively with other centres like The Public and The MAC.

In terms of the refurbishment, we focussed on the Seminar Room, Frontiers Café, the entrance and reception, establishing key areas in need of reviving. We found a lot of what The Drum already had was of an excellent standard. Besides new carpet and hi-tech seminar facilities, it just needed a little colour, better use of the brand, and more attention paid to the presentation of the art.

We relocated the paintings and sculptures to more prominent areas, and researched African, Caribbean and Asian art, with particular focus on the use of patterns and colour. This helped us finalise a new colour set which worked with their existing brand colours, but which could also be used to identify each of the key areas. Patterns were created and used throughout the building in keeping with the theme, along with huge quotes from iconic members of the black community, for example, Chris Gardner and Claudia Jones.

The refurbishment has already been well received by The Drum, and we’re now awaiting the feedback from the public. Take a look at the photos and let us know what you think!

Business Suite before the refurbisment

Business Suite after

Business Suite: cabaret style

Before and after views of the Café