Hay Festival Global has unveiled a bold new brand identity and campaign, developed in partnership with EDIT Brand Studio, and celebrating “a world of different…”
Hay Festival, one of the world’s leading cultural charities, was founded in Hay-on-Wye, Wales in 1987, providing audiences with dynamic platforms to come together to share ideas, different perspectives and provoke conversations that can create a better world.
Working collaboratively with partners and communities across the world, the charity is a catalyst for change whose bold, inclusive, and imaginative approach makes a significant difference to people’s lives.
The new identity unifies the charity’s multiple editions, projects and social purpose under a core brand, highlighting its internationalism and impact.
The visual identity is inspired by the festival’s literary roots, whilst looking to highlight its global reach with a rotating logo – positioned on the same 23.5 degree angle as the earth’s rotation axis.
The dynamic, multi-layered logo reflects the organisations many different ‘chapters,’ including its festivals, forums, events, digital platforms and educational programmes, all over the world.
Spanning the worlds of literature, art, science, politics, music and comedy, the ‘open book’ identity is designed to broaden the organisation’s reach and people’s understanding of it, illustrating it as a festival of books, and so much more.
Hay Festival’s new brand idea. led by the phrase ‘a world of different,’ clearly expresses its purpose, inviting people into a world of different stories, ideas and new possibilities. It brings together diverse voices to listen, talk, debate and create, tackling some of the world’s biggest political, social and environmental challenges.
As well as firming Hay’s position as a global festival through its rotating logo, its ‘world of colour’ inspired palette is designed to allow individual countries to have their own six-colour palette, synonymous with their respective culture and social nuances.
This means that different festivals can feel part of the Hay Festival Global master brand while retaining their own unique identities and fun, festival feel.
Wider graphic assets within the identity – including infographics, agendas, and social media posts – echo the logo design, unifying the organisation’s festivals, projects, educational programmes, and digital platforms while representing the variety of angles, perspectives and views that the festival collates.
The launch of Hay Festival’s new visual identity also launches the 100-day countdown to the Hay-on-Wye event, which will be one of the first key roll-out projects for the brand campaign and onsite experience.
Hay Festival CEO Julie Finch said: “As an international charity, we reach millions of people every year through our one-of-a-kind Festivals, Forums, programmes, and digital platforms. Opening minds to new ways of thinking about our ever-changing world, we are a charity for everyone.
“We are delighted to share our new identity created by EDIT Brand Studio, underpinned by a year of audience development research, and aligned to our mission, vision and values as a charity. With just 100 days to go until Hay Festival 2024 in Wales, we are starting our next chapter with purpose and vision.”
Khadija Kapacee, founder and MD of EDIT Brand Studio, added: “We have been delighted to support Hay Festival in its brand transformation journey. Creating a dynamic, energetic new identity that roots the new brand in Hay Festival’s long-standing legacy as a world-leading book festival, whilst also looking towards the future and creating a brand for a global festival of stories, ideas and new possibilities; focusing on new ways of engaging with people all around the world.”
Over the past year, Hay Festival has delivered 12 editions in seven countries: Colombia, Peru, the USA, Mexico, Spain, Ukraine and the UK. A total of 1,111 individual events featured 2,018 artists with 315,395 tickets sold and 6.7million web views while a year-round education and outreach programmes reached 15,081 school pupils.
The world’s greatest writers, thinkers and performers have taken to the Festival’s stages over the years, including Arthur Miller, Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, Margaret Atwood, Arundhati Roy, Naomi Klein, Edward Said, Alice Walker, Hugh Masekela, Jimmy Carter, Seamus Heaney, Zadie Smith, Dua Lipa, Stormzy, Nadine Gordimer, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Martin Amis, Paul McCartney, Desmond Tutu, Jane Fonda, and Hillary Clinton.
The next Festival edition takes place in Wales, 23 May–2 June. Thirty earlybird events are already on sale now, offering a promise of fresh thinking, dynamic performances and diverse voices.
Confirmed speakers include novelists Colm Tóibín, Marlon James, Jeanette Winterson and Andrey Kurkov; environmentalist George Monbiot; podcaster Rory Stewart; comedians Julian Clary and Sara Pascoe; poet Hollie McNish; musician Jools Holland; and actors Miriam Margolyes and Lenny Henry.
Meanwhile, Festival events further afield are already in full swing. Last month, there were editions in Jericó, Medellín and Cartagena, Colombia, and Panama City, while Hay Festival Forum Seville takes place in Spain this March. Closer to home, the Scribblers Tour just wrapped last week, taking writers direct to schools across Wales in free events.
