Hobby Center for the Performing Arts Unveils New Brand Identity

The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts today introduced a new brand identity that reflects what audiences are already experiencing across the organization: more artistic programming, more opportunities to discover and connect, and more ways for people to experience the performing arts.

Arriving as the Hobby Center approaches its 25th anniversary, the new identity mirrors an evolution already underway through an expanding portfolio of presented programming, education, and artist initiatives.

Building on its longstanding association with Broadway, the Hobby Center now presents Beyond Broadway, bringing celebrated artists into more intimate performance settings. Houston Is Inspired provides Houston artists with time, space, and resources to develop and present work in Zilkha Hall. Live at the Founders Club features music and storytelling in the Hobby Center’s newest and most intimate performance space. And Breaking Bread offers unscripted conversations centered around food and shared experiences.

That same growth can be seen in the Hobby Center’s education and accessibility work. Thousands of fifth graders from across Greater Houston experience live performance for free, including transportation, through the ExxonMobil Discovery Series. Expanded accessibility initiatives and Relaxed and Sensory Inclusive Performances create more opportunities for people to participate fully in the performing arts.

Developed in partnership with Pentagram New York, the new brand identity was created to better reflect this broader experience and the people at its center.

Pentagram is the world’s largest independently owned design consultancy, with offices in New York, London, Austin, and Berlin. Founded in 1972, the multidisciplinary studio works across brand identity, strategy, graphic design, environmental design, digital experiences, and communications.

The Hobby Center’s new identity was led by New York-based Pentagram partner Emily Oberman, an award-winning graphic designer whose work has shaped some of the world’s most recognizable entertainment and cultural brands. Her portfolio includes Saturday Night Live, NBC, Warner Bros., the Harry Potter franchise, and American Girl. Known for bringing wit, emotion, and humanity to her work, Oberman received the prestigious AIGA Medal in 2022, one of the design profession’s highest honors.

Taking shape through a collaborative process, perspectives from across the Hobby Center community, including audiences, artists, arts partners, donors, volunteers, staff, and other stakeholders were included. Their input helped articulate what the Hobby Center represents today and informed a brand designed to exhibit the organization’s continued growth as a presenter, partner, and gathering place for the performing arts.

The “H” monogram draws from the Hobby Center’s distinctive window architecture, forming an “H” with a “C” embedded in the negative space. The broader identity signifies the Hobby Center’s role as a place of joy, belonging, and discovery for audiences, and one that connects, convenes, and cultivates a community of artmakers.

At the heart of the messaging is a simple invitation: "Be." Be moved by a story. Be surprised by something unexpected. Be inspired by an artist you didn’t know before. Be amazed by the spectacle. Be here with your community.

Rather than defining what an experience at the Hobby Center should be, "Be" leaves room for audiences to experience it for themselves—whether encountering a favorite Broadway production, discovering a Houston artist, seeing a first live performance, or simply sharing an experience with others.