The Pasadena Film Festival is an entertainment event crafted by and for those who enjoy films in any capacity. Pasadena Film Festival not just covers the basics which are: commercial films, independent films, TV, etc, but it also offers talks from directors and talent in front and behind the cameras. The festival needed a vivid identity system, printed collateral, and digital campaign that would help convey the creativity of film in a fresh way.

The personality for this brand was inspired by film genres and the moods they can convey to its audience. Playful, nostalgic, bold, and fun are the personality traits explored throughout the use of primary and secondary colors, grids and graphics. The simple wordmark lockup is paired with a geometric eyeball graphic. This fun element, which represents the keen eye of festival goers, stands out across the branding system of bright colors and flowing grids. In marketing, the eye graphic creates a goofy point of focus that attracts attention and signals to the public that the film festival is approachable and doesn’t take itself too seriously. The eye element can also be animated in digital applications, creating a dynamic and fun persona for the brand.

To differentiate from more stark and neutral branding for most film industry events, an extensive palette of bright colors is mixed across all touchpoints. These colors are layered with grid elements, which can bend and recede in three dimensional space, giving color floods a compelling look. Typography is set with extreme contrast and sizes, and makes use of a bold condensed sans, paired with a crisp monospace for body copy. Film stills are unified with vintage filters, applied with a light hand, so that the color grading of the individual films can still be seen.