The aifvf Project
The Athens International Film + Video Festival holds a long-withstanding love and tradition within my hometown of Athens, Ohio. I was honored with the task of creating the branding elements and identity of the 49th year in early 2022.
With plenty of creative freedom and only a few nudges from the festival’s director, we were able to create a cohesive brand identity that perfectly encapsulated the festival’s attitude and subtly hints at the road-blocks trying to thwart this special pandemic episode of the event. Here you will see my creative process throughout the few weeks we had to complete this project:
The 49th Athens International Film + Video Festival
“Founded in 1974, the AIFVF has been presenting the best in international film for 46 years. Known globally as a festival that supports cinema from underground and marginalized populations, the AIFVF represents the values that we share as a community. It is a champion of justice and provides a voice for underrepresented artists and viewpoints on a global level.”
PROCESS
PROCESS
PROCESS PROCESS
Starting from Scratch
I began with a set of guidelines:
Our branding must reflect the general attitude of the fest, but be completely original as the 49th year
The incorporated imagery must be centered around their classic dog motif
My illustrations must be easily rendered with the limitation of using simple CMYK color mixes, allowing for quick and precise alignment on The Athens Messenger’s printing press.
From there, I had a point of reference to begin brainstorming a theme through research and sketching. See some ideation and sketches to the right;
I use an iPad with an app called Procreate to complete many of my illustrations. A lot of my process involves getting some line son a page, then nudging them around until they inspire an image. Luckily the program automatically captures a time lapse of my work. Here are a couple of videos that demystify my personal design process.
TO THE PRESSES
TO THE PRESSES
Ready for Print
As my lengthy list of to-do items depleted, our ready-for-print pile grew taller. Many of the designs I had created were destined for web-only viewing, and so the only restrictions I had to work with were the necessary dimensions and resolution.
As far as physical merchandise went, we needed to work with vectors that could be converted into single color files for screen printing onto tee shirts and tote bags.
The 49th Tote Bag design
Above is the big kahuna of the 49th aifvf design budget, an all-encompassing festival program (catalog), printed on a newspaper press at The Athens Messenger. Here are just a few of the pages that I designed in the 16 page edition.
My take on an aifvf Bumper Sticker
(above) a banner for the AIFVF Facebook page
(below) member badges
