sundance

The Sundance Film Festival is a renowned 10-day event that brings together filmmakers and film enthusiasts from around the globe, celebrating independent voices and visions. The identity for the 2022 Sundance Film Festival draws inspiration from the sun, our solar system’s most radiant source of light and life.

Our design concept graphically represents the sun as a focal point for convergence, symbolizing how planets orbit a star, moths are drawn to a flame, and film lovers gather around a screen. This identity also signifies a new convergence, merging the power of in-person experiences with the innovation and accessibility of the digital experiences that began in 2021 during the pandemic.

This project was a collaboration between the SVA Masters in Branding Program, DeeDee Gordon of The Gordon Co., and Sundance.

The color palette for the 2022 Festival is inspired by Park City’s vibrant landscape, which enhances the in-person, on-mountain experience and fosters vibrant online connections. The new Festival logo, inspired by the sun as a point of convergence, serves as a beacon inviting everyone to join.

The icons used in the Festival’s identity are timeless hieroglyphical compositions representing the sun, its movements, and its radiance. These forms illustrate the star’s relationship with other celestial objects and phenomena, nodding to the earliest forms of storytelling and communication. The calligraphic typeface anchoring our wordmark complements these icons, creating a cohesive and impactful visual language.

Unapologetically bold and unrelentingly independent, the combination of icons, colors, and typography results in a diverse yet visually consistent range of applications, products, and experiences. This vibrant and cohesive design underscores the spirit of the Sundance Film Festival.

RESULTS

• Attendance up 168% from 2020, audience of 600,000

• 91% of the Festival’s feature films in 2022 were world premieres.

team

Kristen Branch
Saloni Soni
Archie Bell
Allison Braund-Harris
Randy Gregory
Steph Millar
Dan Onufrishyn
Kim Weiner
Emelil Walter
Ryan Nguyen
Courtney Duggan
Chelsea Carlson
Celine Han

credits

DeeDee Gordon
Dr. Tom Guarriello
Mark Kingsley
Melinda Welch