The Theater Offensive (TTO) is more than a theater company — it is a Queer cultural institution, a living think tank, a spiritual studio, and a performance lab guided by and built for Queer and Trans people of Color (QTBIPOC). Founded in 1989 through drag theater protest, TTO was born of defiance, grief, glamour, and radical kinship during the height of the AIDS crisis. Over three decades later, it remains committed to turning stages into sanctuaries, art into technology, and aesthetics into abolitionist tools. TTO does not make theater for tolerance — they make theater for liberation.
"Our art is not entertainment — it is memory, medicine, worldbuilding, and wholeness."
I was originally commissioned by the TTO marketing directors to help them launch a newspaper magazine that would be a hub for Trans media, and this ultimately morphed into helping to reimagine the brand identity and story of this legacy Queer cultural institution. This was an opportunity for me to dive into Queer writing, history, research, poetry, magazines, books, and academia by QTBIPOC. I really wanted to create an identity that spoke like someone who reads Audre Lorde and throws shade like Ts Madison. This identity system needed to hold all of this complexity. It must refuse singularity. It must be coded, layered, lush, and legible. The result embodies structure and playfulness. It is designed for the Queer world stage and beyond — poise, rebellious charm, and big personality. It is OFFENSIVE.
Serving
Creative Direction & Art Direction
Custom Promotional Design
Brand Consultation
Brand Storyline Consultation & Writing
Print Consultation
Post Production
Graphic & Layout Design
Branding & Identity
Copywriting
Web Design & Development
Credits
Co-Creators, Development, Editorial & Marketing Directors
Hakeem Adewumi & Joseph V. Porter
Hakeem Adewumi & Joseph V. Porter
Brand Consultant, Creative Director, Brand & Print Design
Mark Baker-Sanchez
Mark Baker-Sanchez