Designing a
versatile
brand for siff
Challenge 
SIFF needed a new identity that worked across multiple media channels. The existing brand didn’t have a cohesive or discernible kit of parts they could use for digital and print communications.
Solution 
We created a mix-and-match identity with a versatile kit of parts that gracefully and seamlessly conveys SIFF’s offbeat, dynamic, and connecting nature.
timeline
11 weeks
Skills
Branding
Identity
Layout
Web Design
Team
In collaboration
with Cara Patten
Tools
Figma
InDesign
Illustrator
Photoshop
Miro
Discover
History & Audience
SIFF believes in film's unique power to share original stories, diverse perspectives, and rich emotional journeys. Born in 1976 with their annual namesake festival, SIFF has since expanded to provide year-round classes and screenings.
SIFF’s tech-savvy and distinctly smart audiences allow them to take risks, host complex conversations, and boldly appreciate film.
Branding & Positioning
We used a tremendous number of digital sticky notes to nail down SIFF’s brand characteristics: dynamic, connecting, and offbeat.
Through this process we determined moviegoers choose SIFF because it's an enriching, stimulating, and community-making window into the world.
Create
Concept
SIFF’s films are an unusual, stimulating treat for the mind and senses just like Brain Candy. We’re quirky but not weird, vibrantly layered, and mind-expanding.
Logo
SIFF encourages new ways of seeing and helps amplify diverse stories. The lines in the brandmark capture sight lines, film projection lights, and connection. The brandmark also amplifies what it is standing next to, just as SIFF amplifies diverse stories.
We added a bit of offbeat imperfection with one line falling in the opposite direction and mixing and matching the fonts in the logotype.
reflect
Brand Guidelines
After exploring the outer fringes of Brain Candy, we started refining the rules for the identity through iteration and feedback.
Outlining the “fruit sticker” use cases was one of our biggest sticking points. Ultimately, we determined that these pops of color work best to establish visual hierarchy in places with dense copy such as a brochure or website.
implement
landing page
After completing an audit of SIFF’s current site, we built a site designed to help drive donations and increase earned income. We prominently featured the current films and classes and added large CTA buttons to donate, volunteer, and become a member at the end of the short landing page.
newsletter
Modeled after content from an existing SIFF email, our newsletter was thoughtfully designed for a small, quick-moving team.
Complex visuals, such as the mixed-type and stickers, were only used on recurring elements that wouldn’t need to be custom-built each week.