DokumentArt: A Visual Identity for the Future

Reinventing a Town, Reinventing a Festival

The DokumentArt festival is not just any documentary film festival. It is a complete reimagining of the festival's identity, led by designers Amanda-Li Kollberg and Lorenz Huchthausen. The project began as a university workshop, where their work was chosen to become a reality. Now, they continue to develop the identity vision for the festival over the upcoming years.

The strength of the DokumentArt visual identity lies in its ability to be both continuous and playful. It challenges each media, each theme, and each year while maintaining recognizability. The designers have created a concept that can evolve and adapt, ensuring that the festival remains fresh and exciting.

Using a combination of Adobe Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, Excel, and Acrobat Pro, Kollberg and Huchthausen have brought their vision to life. They have created a range of materials, including a custom format catalogue, DIN A6 booklet, DIN Lang folder, A1 and A0 posters, as well as ads, banners, postcards, and plexiglass awards.

The DokumentArt visual identity has been brought to life through billboards, banners, and posters in and around the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern area. Ads in various film magazines also promote the festival. Upon arrival, guests receive a catalogue, booklet with the program, and a custom-made map. Special events hosted by the festival also feature individual artworks that play with the concept.

The project began in June 2015 as a student workshop at Kunsthochshule Weissensee in Berlin. The designers have worked in their home towns of Berlin and Copenhagen, as well as on location in Neubrandenburg. The festival took place in Neubrandenburg, Germany, in October 2015.

Extensive research was conducted to develop the DokumentArt visual identity. The designers delved into the festival's visual and practical history, as well as the historical context of the venues and the town itself. They spent time in Neubrandenburg to understand how the town and storytelling could intertwine. The visual concept is not a one-off; it is designed to live, develop, and grow with the festival over the next 4-5 years.

One of the main challenges faced by Kollberg and Huchthausen was creating an identity that could provide recognizability while still allowing for customization and differentiation each year. The festival prides itself on being different every year, and the designers had to create a loose plan for the possible visual developments over the next few years. They have already started the concept development for the festival's 25th anniversary.

The DokumentArt visual identity is a testament to the power of design in reinventing and revitalizing a festival. It captures the essence of Neubrandenburg's spirit of resilience and creativity, providing a stage for art, film, theatre, and music to flourish. Kollberg and Huchthausen's work has been recognized with a Bronze A' Design Award in 2016, showcasing their technical and creative skills and their contribution to improving the quality of life through design.