Festival profile

Company strategy
At the Øya Festival you will hear an exceptional number of different types of rock music in its broad sense. The festival's audience is regarded as having an above average interest in music and high expectations with regard to quality. In recent years, Norway has experienced enormous growth in terms of music festivals with a musical profile like that of the Øya Festival. This has intensified the fight for audience numbers as well as pushed up artists' fees. In spite of this the Øya Festival yielded a profit in 2008. The visual profile of the festival is new each year and is developed in the nine months prior to the start of the festival.

Gathering information
One of the challenges in the solution was to create a visual profile that communicated well despite the number of musical genres that were presented, and that a discerning and accustomed audience would identify with. The visual history of popular music was thoroughly researched and classical references were gathered, and new reference points created, as a basis for the visual image of the festival for 2008.

Conceptualisation
Øya has a constant desire to be different and a trendsetter in terms of festivals and delivers a visual profile that is completely unlike anything done before in the context of a festival. Even though the festival is loyal to its audience, it wants to surprise and challenge. It therefore takes the liberty to create a profile that immediately grabs attention, but also takes time to get acquainted with and, hopefully, eventually become enamoured with. The marketing manager and designer put in a great deal of time beforehand in discussing conceptual solutions for the year's design based on trends and history. The desired story, position and level with regard to content and style were loosely agreed on. The designer then created draft directions based on this.

Testing and choice of direction
The draft directions were discussed and assessed based on user friendliness, different media and the festival's image and standpoint. The concepts were also assessed in relation to the company's strategy, and a conceptual direction based on the designer's recommendations was then selected jointly by the company and the designer.  

Design specification
The profile is anchored in traditional rock aesthetics. Choice of font, typography, colour palette, illustrations and use of images shows appreciation for several of the eras in the visual history of rock and for cultures that have been linked to rock. Film, fashion, art and cartoon strips. The profile has mainly two functions, which are meant to complement each other: Firstly, the profile is meant to publicise the festival and separate it from competitors in the market. This is taken care of by a clear and limited colour palette and an easily recognisable yet unique visual style. Secondly, it is important that the artists are well represented in the profile as it is, first and foremost, them that create the festival. In addition to the festival's main programme Øya has various sub-events, each of which has received its own individual representation in the profile but which still fits in with the profile overall.

Development
The festival profile was launched on the Internet and through advertisements on 1 December of the year before the festival, a whole nine months prior to the start of the festival. As artists are booked and the musical content takes shape, the visual profile develops. The final festival profile is not complete before the festival is already underway. The Øya Festival's profile for 2008 was made up of a set of characters and figures, each of which in its way represented the festival. As the festival developed the contents of the material changed. New elements and figures arrived, others disappeared – perhaps only to reappear later. This made the profile living and dynamic and the audience could constantly find new elements and references. Of a total of 70 newspaper and magazine advertisements, 16 posters and 10 flyers none were entirely alike. This demands that the design is flexible and easy to work with. Advertisements and posters are also not bound to any grid, template or rules other than placement of fixed information such as accommodation and ticket information. In addition to advertising and the usual posters a series of silk screen posters was produced, signed and numbered as limited editions for individual bands or groups within the various genres. They were hung up at strategic points, the series captured the attention of the crowds and people began to collect them. The Øya Festival markets itself as an environmentally friendly festival and all printed items for promotional material (magazines, posters, flyers, information brochures, etc.) bear the Svane (swan) seal and are produced from recycled paper.

Commercialisation
The feedback from the audience, partners, volunteers and artists was very positive. The Øya Festival 2008 was the tenth consecutive Øya festival, with 75,000 visitors over 5 days.

Company: Øyafestivalen AS

Design: The A.K.I.G.A/Graphic Holding AS

Award / year: Honours Award for Design Excellence - 2009

Category: Nominees