A wry and garish identity for Geneva’s festival of contemporary culture

Swiss studio Neo Neo has designed the identity for La Bâtie, a two-week festival of contemporary culture, including theatre, music, dance and visual arts that takes place in Geneva. Each year the festival identity is given over to a new studio, its printed matter, website and signage redesigned whilst maintaining the festival’s subversive tone. In this instance, Neo Neo pushed references to a “discount aesthetic,” with nods to 1950s popcorn packaging, cereal packets, hot dogs and cheapo store identities such as Leader Price and Hard Discount. Their identity is communicated through a series of cartoon-like characters, bold typography and a red and white square repeat pattern; it’s childlike and garish, making for a much-needed break from the tasteful but repetitive festival identities of late. By playing on the tropes of pop culture and cut-price advertising, the identity also establishes an entertaining and accessible tone for the arts festival, one that satirises the context and not its audience.