Fungus Fest — The Mushroom Festival in the Khibiny Mountains is an annual science-popular event that explores the rich and mysterious world of fungi through lectures, field activities, hands-on learning, and creative experiences, organized by the Kola Science Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The festival takes place in the heart of the Khibiny — one of the most distinctive mountain regions of the Kola Peninsula. The event runs for two days across two different locations, allowing participants to experience diverse natural settings and research contexts.

The central metaphor of the festival is the mycelium — a living, ever-expanding organism whose delicate threads connect spaces and bind the forest into a single system. This image shaped the visual identity: graphics echo growing mycelial networks, thread-like lines form pathways and connections, and the palette reflects the minimalist colors of the natural landscapes of the Kola Peninsula.
In the visual system, the mycelial threads also serve as carriers of scientific texts and engaging facts about fungi, turning information into a part of the organic “growth” of the identity. Bold typographic blocks of mycelium communicate the festival’s dates and locations. The main heading — the name Fungus Fest and its expanded interpretation — is arranged in compositions inspired by clusters of mushrooms that typically grow tightly together in several rows. This form creates a direct visual association with natural growth and reinforces the link between the identity and the festival’s theme.

This approach gave Fungus Fest an identity that is not playful, but scientific, atmospheric, and still welcoming. It gained a distinct visual language that communicates a serious attitude toward mycology, highlights the depth of scientific exploration, and reflects the event’s modern and refined character. The design builds trust, strengthens the educational focus, and presents the festival as a coherent, nature-respectful experience that makes complex topics accessible and inspires visitors to explore the world of fungi further.