AU Festival was created to be an annual event to bring Africans from the continent and the diaspora and for persons wishing to experience the African culture in Ghana.

Our client, Planet One Media, in collaboration with the Office of the President (Diaspora Affairs), Ghana Tourism Authority, Ministry of Tourism & Creative Arts, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs collaborated to implement the festival as effectively as possible.

The event was a 3-day Festival starting with a Presidential Banquet on the first day followed by guided tours and exploration of arts and culture. Unfortunately, the event had to be postponed due to the pandemic. Our role was to create the band identity system and brand messaging to connect the festival to its target audience.

Context
In 2019, Ghana launched the year of return which encouraged Africans in the diaspora to visit Ghana and explore their African roots. After a successful year, the Ministry of tourism was looking forward to a new program for 2020. My client (Planet One Media) tried to collaborate with the ministry to effect the AU Festival Celebration.

Design Work
We began by creating a Stylescape which is a curation of images, texts, textures etc. to serve as a general design direction. The Key words were “African”and “Youthful”.

A good amount of symbol exploration was made, they had to have an African feel without being too biased to a particular African country. We looked at symbols that weren’t necessarily tied to a particular culture but looked distinctly African at first glance.

The logo was created making numerous references to the stylescape. The pattern was also made by breaking apart the component symbols of the logo icon. We chose a bold yellow, it was bright and vibrant and seemed appropriate for the representing African nations.

The project would be implemented at a future date, but we’re glad we were a part of this.