The British charity Hay Festival Global has launched a new identity in the run up to this year’s instalment of its big event, which will take place in May in Hay-on-Wye in Wales, where it was founded in 1987. Despite its humble beginnings, Hay Festival now operates in countries all over the world, from Colombia to Spain to the US.

First and foremost a book festival, the organisation’s output also spans forums, digital platforms, and educational programmes focusing on a range of issues, from the political to the social to the environmental. Through doing so, it hopes to “bring together diverse voices to listen, talk, debate and create”.

Hay Festival Global worked with Manchester-based brand studio Edit to create a new identity for the festival and wider organisation. Led by the phrase ‘a world of different’, the studio’s team developed a new look and feel that could clearly express the organisation’s purposes, and “invite people into a world of different stories, ideas and new possibilities”.

At the heart of this identity is the new logo, which sits on the Earth’s 23.5 degree axis to highlight Hay as a truly global festival. The logo also rotates, mirroring our planet’s own movements and introducing a dynamic element to the identity.

The logo resembles an abstract ‘H’ letterform, and is split into eight different layers – or chapters – to reflect the many worlds that Hay Festival Global taps into, including literature, art, science, politics, music and comedy. This is further reinforced by the broad colour palette, emphasising the breadth of its remit.

The flexible palettes were designed to allow the various festivals to have their own unique identities while linking back to the global master brand.

This approach has also been applied to infographics, agendas and social media posts, helping to bring together all of Hay Festival Global’s communications under one overarching aesthetic. The identity will be rolled out in full at the next edition of the festival in Hay-on-Wye in May.

editbrandstudio.co.uk