Claire Dobinson School of Dancing Show Programme

A printed programme designed for a live performance at Buxton Opera House, balancing clarity, structure and a sense of occasion.

The brief was to create a show programme for the 25 year bi-annual show, a milestone performance celebrating the dance school, that could handle a large volume of information while still feeling special enough to keep.

Programmes like this live in two worlds:

• They need to be functional in the moment (easy to follow, quick to scan in low light)

• But also keepsakes afterwards

The risk is overcrowding. Too much content, not enough structure.

The focus was on structure first, design second:

• Clear hierarchy to guide the reader through acts and performances

• Consistent formatting to make scanning effortless

• Careful spacing to avoid overwhelming the page

• Subtle design details to elevate it beyond a basic handout

Everything was designed to work in real conditions, not just look good on screen.

The outcome was a programme that:

• Made a large amount of information easy to navigate

• Supported the flow of the live show

• Felt polished and meaningful enough to keep as a memento.