Defining and refining the brand

I did the poster design and some social and motion assets for 2022’s Same Same But Different festival in Southern California on Lake Perris (you can see my work from that year here) and the promoters liked the work so much they asked me to return for the 2023 fest, but this time in an expanded role. A common factor with most music festivals is how they often start off with a less disciplined brand system, usually defined and then refined after the fest has had a few years to get up and running. During those first few years there can be a few too many variations in color, type, texture, etc. present and SSBD wanted the 2023 iteration of the event to have a more structured brand system and they wanted me to be part of creating that look.

The industry comes roaring back

In winter 2019/20 I was working on art for several music festivals (nearly all festivals are planned several months in advance as they end up impacting many artists’ touring plans for the years they occur in. Of course then (motions around) things changed. Spring dates shifted optimistically to early summer, then late summer, then autumn before being ultimately shelved. A trend that would stick around for a year or two. Since Covid first hit in 2020 there have been multiple false starts and plans that never made it past the initial planning stages. 2023 felt like things were finally geting back to normal. That year I would do four music festivals just in the first four months of the year.

I was thrilled when Activated Events asked me to help them rebrand their long-running Coastal Country Jam festival, which would be returning in 2023 but in a very different location than its original stomping grounds in Huntington Beach. The festival was moving north. To Long Beach. And that change of venue was going to inform the artwork.

Avoiding the usual “country/western” tropes

Sure, this was a country music festival but it was also a California country music festival. On the beach no less. The look would need to avoid all the usual trappings associated with country music. No boots, for instance. And it should at least nod to the California model of country. A bit more Eagles than Charlie Daniels Band. I set to work on a few different brand marks to see about presenting this specific vibe. And as I often do, I would start with color. What could bridge the gap in vibe here? Sand, sea, earth tones and honky tonks. All that. I put together a simple palette as my jumping off point. 

Color and type are often my way “in” on a project. Each carries its own language and tone into things that help light the path toward what the other elements will be. So next I’dd find some type that could live in that space between Country tradition and California attitude. I would mock up a couple basic logotypes.