Dubai Design Week
Arts, Culture, and Creativity
2015
Dubai Design Week, held in strategic partnership with Dubai Design District (d3), is the region’s largest creative festival, reflecting Dubai’s position as the design capital of the Middle East. This week-long event happens every year across the city of Dubai to serve the demand of an increasing appetite for design in the Middle East.
Client:
Art Dubai Group
Services:
Brand strategy, creative direction, art direction, project management, launch.
Credits:
Brand Identity: Bond (Jesper Bange)
Image credits:
Marta Lamovsek
In 2014, while working with BOND Creative Agency, we were approached to work on the re-development of a brand identity that had not yet been deployed. As the local and international design enthusiasts and professionals were ready to converge on Dubai for its inaugural design festival, the now leading design event in the Middle East area, our challenge was to develop an instantly memorable identity.
Our process began with a workshop to engage the team and gain insights and inspiration to fuel the concept and brand creation and design. Through a series of creative meetings with the curatorial and content development team of the festival, it was quickly understood that the team wanted the brand to highlight Dubai’s position as an international and regional hub for design and ideas.
By understanding this aspiration, while also appreciating the use of the logo in its application i.e. lock-ups with different sponsors and stakeholders, we were able to create a logo that was illustrated with just three letters—the letters that are the acronym for Dubai, its airport, but also (D)esign X(across) (B)orders.
We worked directly with the client in an engaging process that brought the Design Week brand alive from day one. The event’s graphic logo is one of duality, reflecting not only the city’s iconic acronym but also that Dubai is international in outlook, collaborative and modern.