(a) LONG STORY (about the Drama) SHORT (film festival rebranding)
WE GOT A PROBLEM: Rebranding something iconic always comes with a bit of Drama.
AndJuliet has a pledge for a minimum of five pro-bono projects per year. Helps us sleep better at night and meet new interesting people that devote a great chunk of their day to making this place a bit better for us all.
One of these projects that really stood out for us this year was a cultural one:
the good people of the iconic Drama International Short Film Festival asked us to help them with a bit of brand consulting on their dodgy mission to rebrand an institution with a history of 35 years! And we gladly accepted.
Rebranding is always tricky.
People that have grown a strong connection with a brand can feel alienated when it suddenly looks and feels different; horror stories of consumers' backlash and Twitter rants over redesigned logos are not that rare; and generally, it's good to have a very good reason before even starting to consider such a bold move.
But the people of the Festival had many.
The preceding visual identity was designed thirty years ago and was limited to a logo and some basic colors. Since then, the world (and its cinematic content) has gone digital and Drama Festival turned from a small community of dreamers to an emblematic platform that elevates unique talent and stories at a world-class level.
Our journey started by drafting a contest that would attract some of the country's greatest designers. It was an "only credentials, portfolio, and general approach" contest. We decided not to ask for any spec-work out of respect for the designers' time. At the end of the day, it was the vision that we were looking for and not a hurtled unpaid version of the final work.
After reviewing the amazing work of several domestic and international design studios, we were fortunate to partner up with the brilliant Dimitris Papazoglou -the creative mind behind some of NIKE's most impactful graphic designs- and his team of talented designers.
Together, we immersed ourselves in the culture of the festival in order to understand its current needs and purposes. After a couple of amazingly collaborative workshops with the artistic director of the festival, the president and other members, we managed to form a tight core brand narrative that felt honest to the brands' past history and future potential.
LET'S SOLVE THIS
We defined the basic elements that the new visual identity should reflect in order to be consistent with the original essence of the institution:
The art of cinema, as the core reason for its existence.
The “short film” format, as the representative field.
The attribute of the emblematic award, since the distinction in the competition sections of the festival, boosts creativity and guarantees the attention of the film industry.
The established international character that the Festival has acquired in the long run and functions as a springboard for Greek & foreign artists at international markets.
The modern digital dimension of the institution, as an organic adaptation to the new rituals of cinematic content consumption.
The inclusive nature of the festival, since its defacto intention is to embrace and shed light on individuals regardless of origin, religion, and sexual orientation, with the main medium being the cinema that unites and serves for collective progress and development.
The above were carefully translated into a beautiful, practical, and deliberate visual language by DpS Athens.
The use of the film perforator (the small perforated squares that frame the strips of the analog film) simultaneously represents the pixels or screens, signifying not only the cinematic mission of the Drama Film Festival but also its timeless continuity.
The imprinting of the pixels in such an arrangement that refers to the system of awards in film festivals – with the awarded party being placed in brackets from laurels – creates a direct connotation to the concept of the cinematic competition, but also of the digital age.
The elliptical trace of the logo -a globe reference- offers in a discreet but clear manner a visual depiction of the international character of an institution that is gaining more and more ground in the international cinematic terrain.
The codification of all verbal information into abbreviations that convey their message directly symbolizes the strength and economy of the short film storytelling.
Joining forces with Dimitris Papazoglou and his band of inexhaustible creatives was an absolute pleasure, and we wanna wish DISFF another 35 years of growing talents and touching stories.