UP - NORTH FESTIVAL
Visual Identity, 3D, Motion Design
Brief:
The Up-North Festival is a two-weekend event focused on providing students, recent graduates, and young professionals in the graphic design community with creative opportunities to bridge into the design industry. The festival would take place across two weekends: the first in Leeds and the second in Manchester.
Its aim is to expand creative opportunities in the North, addressing the current imbalance where most opportunities are concentrated in London. By bringing these events to Leeds and Manchester, the festival seeks to highlight and elevate the creative potential of the Northern design community.
The festival connects emerging design talent with local studios, offering valuable experiences such as panel talks, portfolio reviews, personal branding workshops, design workshops, and networking events. The goal is to foster a thriving creative environment that nurtures the next generation of designers, providing them with the skills and connections to succeed in the design world.
Strategy:
The event branding was designed to appeal to a wide audience of graphic designers by utilising a dual visual identity that merges both print and digital aesthetics. For print-focused designers, halftone patterns reference traditional offset printing, celebrating craftsmanship and heritage. For digital designers, 3D chrome renders bring a sleek, futuristic aesthetic that resonates with modern digital workflows. Motion design was also incorporated to reflect the presence of motion-focused studios in the lineup.
Colour schemes were adapted per location, maintaining a cohesive identity while allowing for variation. Halftone treatments on studio imagery ensured scalability across different formats, from billboards to social media. Additionally, humour, a key part of Northern culture, was integrated into merchandise to create a more relatable and engaging brand experience. This approach ensures the identity speaks to a broad spectrum of designers while feeling unified and distinct.