WHOLE 2023

Taking place in a lakeside industrial park a few hours outside of Berlin, WHOLE Festival seeks to connect queer collectives from all over the globe under one banner of creativity, passion, pleasure, and above all, good music. Over three full days of camping, DJ sets, workshops, art installations, and skinny dipping, the festival brings together a program of dozens of local and international artists, representing the best in electronic music.
Started as a collaboration between 3 Berlin collectives and now welcoming collectives hailing from China to Uganda, passing by Mexico, Brazil and beyond, WHOLE’s vision is to manifest what most festivals only dream of: the creation of a world all its own.

I was tasked with building a fresh visual identity for the upcoming 2023 festival edition. This involved conceptualising and designing a brand-new website, as well as creating a comprehensive set of brand guidelines able to ensure a cohesive and uniform usage across both digital and printed materials.

The festival’s branding had the main goal of capturing the two main strengths of the event: a celebration of queerness and eclecticism. Vibrant, unexpected, visionary: these descriptors served as my guiding principles throughout the design process. The new brand identity mixed visual elements inspired by the early ’90s aesthetic with a raving vibe, and added a touch of mysticism reflecting the festival’s unique vibe and spirit. To bring this vision to life, I used a dynamic set of six sophisticated typefaces as primary headers. These were combined with fluid, animated backgrounds and holographic-sticker illustrations, in contrast with the flat black & white graphics used for the main layouts.

The illustration set was created in strict alignment with the core brand guidelines. It envisioned a ‘magical’ ecosystem mixing natural elements and mythological characters such as wizards, sirens, and giants. The illustration style reproduced the material effect of holographic stickers, aligning with the overall design elements.

The primary goal with the social media guidelines was to ensure both consistency and a meaningful contribution to the ‘fantastic’ storytelling aspect of the brand identity. To achieve this, we integrated content photos from previous festival editions in the social media campaign showing them as captivating ‘postcards’ from a parallel dimension. Additionally, the portraits of the 26 music collectives were presented as interactive Tarot cards, engaging the audience in a unique visual experience.

The new website design boasts a comprehensive layout, categorising the entire lineup and cultural program into four main sections: Collectives, Artists (DJs), Performers, and Culture. A floating widget, providing real-time updates on the program, remains consistently accessible in the lower-right corner of the screen.

The updated digital asset guidelines were not only applied to online content but also extended to printed materials, including infographics, bar menus, wristbands, and area signs. Furthermore, the illustration set served as the foundation for the festival’s official merchandise.

Manuel Cardozo
Dani D’Ingeo
Andrea Galad
Roni Lugassi
Victor Luque
Rafael Medina
Spyros Rennt
Szymon Stepniak