When York – the jewel in the UK’s Roman-Viking-medieval crown – was awarded UNESCO Creative City of Media Arts status, an ambitious organisation was assembled. Originally named York Mediale, they were tasked with curating groundbreaking digital art for a citywide festival.
The challenges for the inaugural event were far-reaching: What defines ‘digital art’? How do we promote a festival for which the content doesn’t yet exist? How can we attract international talent to make new content? Will York break free of its historic shackles and bring the city, and the art, to new audiences?
We playfully invited art to meet the future with a curious identity to match the bold artistic risks Mediale were spearheading. We positioned the art as the story, with the city of York being the grand canvas – a playground for the incredible artists to create and be seen.
In just 7 years, Mediale has secured on-going Arts Council England funding and bloomed from a biennial 10-day citywide digital arts festival into an international media arts agency with a year-round programme that constantly pushes boundaries across the globe.
Results
Gained national attention before programme launch
Generated inbound interest from artists and partners on brand alone
Cut through at launch without traditional marketing spend
Project Scope
- Visual identity
- Verbal identity
- Festival campaign
- Digital experience
The inaugural festival took the form of a city takeover, transforming cultural landmarks and spilling out onto the streets. It was important the brand could make a noise, but still sit back to let the events and artists be the hero.
The challenge was to showcase the wide spectrum of digital arts in a way that would resonate with unfamiliar audiences. A teaser site launched the brand by presenting it as a series of interactive code experiments, allowing people to experience a flavour of what’s to come. It deliberately blurred the line between brand and content, encouraging people to stay and play.
