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Rebranding for the Ohana Festival

OVERVIEW
The Ohana Festival is a weekend music festival held on Doheny State Beach in Dana Point, California. The unique venue directly overlooks the ocean, making the location a huge selling point. The current branding leans into this aspect, but does little to reflect its music scene. The Ohana Festival is in need of a cohesive, conceptually sound rebranding.

CHALLENGES & GOALS
The rebranding should focus on the values and experiences that make Ohana unique from other music festivals. It’s smaller and more intimate than something like Coachella, with a less mainstream music selection. The beachfront venue should also be emphasized as a main attraction. . In addition to the view, the festival emphasizes an experience of support and togetherness, as ‘ohana is the Hawaiian word for family. The overall design must remain family-friendly.

RESEARCH
Ohana features artists both old and new, but most of its headliners in years past are iconic rock bands of the 1990s. The audience for this music skews toward millenials who were teens and young adults in the 90s. There is also the typical concertgoing crowd of college students, especially since the 90s are making a comeback with younger generations.

SOLUTION AESTHETIC
The rebranding hinges on Eddie Vedder’s description of Ohana as “angry music for smiling people”. It conveys the raw, rock ‘n’ roll feel  of  the performers’ “angry music” through distressed textures, lightning bolt iconography, and halftone photography reminiscent of old punk rock zines. This is contrasted with the aesthetics “smiling people”: vibrant colors, a positive and welcoming voice, and typography that’s easy on the eyes. The logo depicts the setting sun audiences will see at the outdoor beach venue, and the gradients evoke the twilight sky.
Rebranding for the Ohana Festival
Published:

Rebranding for the Ohana Festival

Published: