Cairde Sligo Arts Festival
As the largest arts festival in the north west of Ireland, Cairde has been a summer fixture in Sligo for many years, bringing a diverse range of artists and performers from around the world to the town.
Challenges
In 2022 I developed a new identity for the festival, with two key challenges, how to capture the sense of joy and excitement that Cairde brings to Sligo each year, and how to translate that idea into a flexible system that the festival team could quickly apply across social media, signage, posters and digital.
Decisions made
The resulting concept was inspired by the idea of a carnival or circus coming to town, sweeping in to fill the day with wonder, whimsy and a wow factor for one week only. I developed a robust logo and visual system built around a distinctive circus-inspired pattern, alongside adaptive brochure and website designs.
Then collaborating closely with the festival team, I worked on an array of various applications, across social media, public signage, printed posters and the website.
Outcomes
The final system has since been used across five consecutive festivals, evolving each year through a new core colour while retaining its distinctive visual language. Rather than creating a fixed identity for a single event, the project established a flexible framework that could evolve with the festival and build anticipation for its return each summer.
Additional Contributors
Photography: Johnny Mallin
Photography: Cían Flynn