art in the park
Art in the Park is a celebration of accessible art, artists, live paintings, student competitions, and featured artist installations. It has been created to be an ongoing outdoor exhibition in the heart of Dubai International Financial Centre. In March 2022, the first event exhibition was held under the theme “Your Legacy”, prompting a self-reflection on what we leave behind.
Highlighting a strong message of inclusion, the exhibition had a focus on working with artists of determination and merging the art world with youth. Therefore, the identity had to be accessible to as many people as possible. We wanted to create an identity that is bold and eye-catching with the versatility to be used with a wide range of colours and textures - suggesting a variety of expressions and personalities.
The Mostra Nuova font is made up of geometric rounded shapes combined with elongated letters and sharp corners, referencing the contemporary Art Deco style of Index Mall, where the exhibitions would be hosted. Fitting perfectly inside a rectangle which represents an artist’s canvas, the letters eventually get ‘boxed-in’ to help the viewer read the unconventional alignment, leaving the logo feeling clean and crisp.
Continuing with the theme of inclusivity, the logo has been designed to become part of the artwork itself. It is a strong enough logo to work in single-colour or to be used to mask patterns, textures and other designs. This versatility allows it to be used across multiple ongoing events, without affecting the core identity.
For the first event, we wanted to really showcase its adaptability by working with a vibrant orange and purple paint texture encased within the logo.
The outdoor exhibition in the park provided an interesting challenge for signage and branding. With limited surfaces and no wall space, we designed and produced mobile standees for branding and way-finding, along with moveable walls on which the artwork could be hung. Walking the venue several times, our design of the space fulfilled the informational and directional needs of the event by displaying the key graphics, explaining the event as a whole including the purposes of each activity spaces.
The event catalogue gave us another excuse for a branding opportunity. The logo sits bold and proud with bright colours on the cover, with oversized titles across the spreads and throughout the pages. The catalogue included the full collection of artwork on display, and with the exhibition hosting key figures and speakers from the UAE art scene, we made sure to insert the bio of each person.
As part of the activation of the event, we arranged for school children to take part in a live art competition where their work would be presented to professional judges. A monetary prize along with a certificate was given to the winner, while each of the runner-ups receiving giveaway packs including gift vouchers and a custom-made paint palette. Other participants and special guests were offered branded tote bags containing personalised chocolate boxes along with their paint palettes, catalogues and vouchers.
In the lead-up to the event, we planned and designed a schedule of social media updates and advertising centred around individual activities. This gave us an excuse to push the brand to a wider audience, drawing people into what was coming up and what had just happened. Live coverage of the event, by tīmata was published throughout the week, helping to boost engagement of the activities. This worked perfectly, as the sponsors and volunteers also cooperated by sharing our content along with their own.
During the live event week, our team was onsite to manage the setup and breakdown each day, ensuring the level of quality was maintained throughout. In partnership with our PR agency, we were filming interviews alongside the news networks, speaking with the hosts, guest speakers, artists and the general public alike.
For the last day of the event, we edited a short ‘wrap-up’ video which was shown to the guests and judges before the prize-giving ceremony and closing of the week.
Although the event was a hard few months of organisation, arranging guest speakers, judges, VIPs, school visits and partnerships; it ended as a resounding success. The event was featured across multiple media and news platforms with praise being given from all parties that either helped with the organisation or the guests.