Beyond the Festival.

For over a quarter-century, the Hamptons International Film Festival has celebrated the art, beauty, and impact of film. It has attracted people from around the globe, provided a forum for diverse perspectives, and introduced audiences to new worlds, cultures, and ideas. And in 2019, the brand set out to go even bigger. As the competitive climate of cinema grows more complex and opportunities for enriching the world of film more wide-reaching, the organization committed to cohesively communicating its offerings and more holistically showcasing its impact. Introducing: HamptonsFilm. From premiering cutting-edge cinema to championing youth education, the organization expanded its messaging beyond the festival to introduce a new parent company, one that clearly communicated the brand’s nonprofit status, tied together its disparate programs, aligned with the festival branding visually, and conveyed to the world that it is so much bigger than a single annual event. Oh, and they did it all in time for the 27th-annual festival debut.

Starting with the Sprocket.

The most profound brands are those that are at once richly differentiated and invitingly familiar. To achieve this pivotal balance, we designed a signature visual element around which we oriented the entire brand experience. Enter: the Sprocket. HamptonsFilm is a brand built as much on tradition as on the momentum of the future, so it was only fitting to use this focal shape reminiscent of the notches that held traditional film reels in place as they screened. And the power of the Sprocket goes far beyond its origins. This simple yet dynamic shape is easily adapted to serve all manner of designs and mediums, flexing to house headlines, frame signature images, and even give structure to date and time constructs.

Creating focus.

The Hamptons Film Festival has become known as one of the most influential film festivals across the globe over nearly three decades. So it was our job to create a design experience for HamptonsFilm that complemented, rather than eclipsed, the logomark that had brought the brand to this point. The two identities needed to work together clearly in the same environments, while also easily extending into current or future sub-brand identities for the organization’s various other programs and offerings. Inspired by the idea that cinema metaphorically widens our own personal apertures, we stretched the sprocket element to visually balance the letterforms within the HamptonsFilm logo. Then, we employed unique color pairings to help differentiate the brand’s various programs and offerings.

Making it vivid.

If you’ve never been to the Hamptons, you should go. The pillowy sands, the rustling grasses, and the water glimmering with the sun’s reflections—all of these elements come together to create palpable energy and sense of place. So we used this effervescent atmosphere to inform the bright hues that make up the HamptonsFilm color identity. Three vivid hues add life to design compositions, and the rich purple tone balances the palette and ensures contrast and legibility.

Making it fun.

Ultimately, HamptonsFilm isn’t about a single brand, a single festival, or a single story. It is about the power of film. Film helps us explore new cultures. Fall in love with new people. And better understand the world around us. And it was our task to reinforce the power of film at every touchpoint, emulating the brand’s cheerful spirit through packaging, products and beyond. From a film festival website experience that allows festival-goers to seamlessly book travel, to a dedicated Festival app to make the experience more enjoyable than ever, the possibilities for the HamptonsFilm identity are endless—and now it is supported by a foundation designed to last well beyond the last screening of the year.