Next Wave Festival promotes and showcases the work of emerging and early career artists. Early 2020, Next Wave Festival launched with a national call for artists to form a government and set an agenda for change. Four days later it was put on hold amidst a pandemic — rescheduled, reshaped, and relaunched as ASSEMBLE! – an online gathering of artists to share ideas around leadership, community and care in a time of crisis.

We worked closely with the Next Wave team to create the two brands – both of which needed to reflect Next Wave’s values and mission, as well as be accessible, powerful and easy to navigate.

Next Wave’s government of artists called for a loud typeface to communicate their strong message of change and empowerment. This resulted in a bold, energetic visual identity that evokes a political movement and promotes a sense of urgency.