Naming and brand identity for new multi-stage South London indie music festival, Cro Cro Land, launching in the centre of Croydon, to celebrate the area’s rich musical history.

Presented by local cultural site, the Croydonist, the mission was to bring guitar bands back to the birthplace of punk, with a hand picked line-up of the best in indie and alternative music by both established and up-and-coming bands, at the same time as putting gender equality at the heart of the festival, from a balanced bill to a crew where women were fairly represented.

The chosen name for the festival plays on celebrating the musical history of the CR0 postcode, as well as being a nod to the blockbuster film title La La Land. The three stages, Town Square, Concrete Playground and Tram Stop were so named as destinations in the ‘Land’, with a link back to the town of Croydon.

The festival was a truly collaborative event with input on the curation from various grass-roots music organisations, support from the Arts Council, Croydon Council and local businesses.

The brand identity needed to evoke a DIY feeling of working together in the independent music scene, as well as linking back to the Croydonist’s visual identity. An intentionally clunky gif brings the main logo to life – it repeats the Croydonist’s symbol manyfold, to form a slinky-esque shape that dances through the words and blends together the traditional gender colours of pink and blue.

The palette colours were then used to differentiate the three stages on social media and at the event.

It was important that the brand identity translated easily across various media (and sizes), from event signage, banners and large-scale graphics, to posters, flyers, social media content, website, festival programme, wristbands, merchandise and even a hi-vis vest for the crew.