Henley Festival is a five-day music, art and food extravaganza held in July every year on the banks of the River Thames. With a varied mix of music, exhibits from leading UK art galleries, fine dining restaurants, comedy from some of the best stand-up comedians on the circuit, a black-tie dress code and an eccentric roving troupe of entertainers – it’s a truly unique event.
I started work with Henley Festival in 2012, creating a new identity that would establish them as one of the UK’s premier events on the summer social calendar.
The project kicked off with a brand workshop to find out where the Henley team wanted to position the festival, and how they wished to be perceived. This fed straight into the brand strategy and all of the creative decisions for the new visual identity and tone of voice.
A simple typographic logo was created, reminiscent of luxury, high-end fashion brands familiar to Henley’s discerning attendees. To further enhance this idea I introduced a limited colour palette of indigo and silver, and created a bespoke typeface to give the festival a unique look.
After completing the brand identity, I have continued to work with the team on all of their marketing materials, ensuring that the design and audience experience is consistent, from the tickets they receive in the post to the signage they see when they arrive at the festival site.
Since the new identity was implemented, ticket sales have increased every year, and have now almost doubled. The festival has also been able to attract major sponsors and partners such as American Airlines, Audi, BMW and Huawei, and is now gearing up for its 40th year anniversary.
“What has impressed me most about Kyn is his instinctive understanding of our brand and his ability to constantly produce design of the highest quality that answers both a creative and commercial need. He is very much part of the festival team and you couldn’t find a nicer person to work with!”
Whether you're a business or individual looking for a trusted and creative partner to work on a design project, or an agency in need of a fresh set of eyes or extra pair of hands, I'd love to hear from you.
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