A release, a festival, a brand · they all live or die on whether the visual world matches the sound. Brand strategy at HBLR is where that world gets defined: the references, the type, the color, the rules that make every future asset feel like it came from the same place.
We built a full festival identity this way · one system that ran from the wheatpaste poster on the street to the wristband at the door to the tee the morning after. Same hand-set type, same silhouettes, same pink-on-black. That is what a system buys you: cohesion that compounds with every touchpoint.
The deliverable is not a mood board. It is a working kit · logo and wordmark, type and color system, brand book · that you and anyone you hire after us can actually use.
- Visual direction · references, mood, intent, locked before production
- Naming & manifesto · the words that frame the world
- Logo & wordmark · primary, secondary, and usage rules
- Type & color system · chosen for stage, screen, and print
- Brand book & press kit · the kit your next designer will thank you for
Do you do brand strategy for festivals and venues, not just artists?
Yes. Festival identities are core work for the studio · poster systems, wristbands, tickets, media passes, merch, all from one visual system. Venues and event series work the same way: one identity that survives every format the night throws at it.
What does the process look like?
Brief, then direction, then delivery. We define the visual world together · references, mood, intent · before a single file opens. Concepts follow in days. Source files are yours, always.
Can you refresh an existing identity instead of starting from zero?
Yes. Often the name and the history are right and the system around them is what is missing. We audit what exists, keep what is earned, and rebuild the rest.