Joburg Art Fair

In 2008, Nicework embarked on a comprehensive creative partnership with cultural event producer Artlogic to design and promote the first contemporary art fair in South Africa: The Joburg Art Fair. The project employed a number of our service offerings including: design, content generation and engagement, web design and development and publishing. Nicework designed and developed the JAF website, billboards, building wraps, promotional printed materials, catalogue and event branding. The result was the successful launch of the JAF brand through a fully functional integrated campaign across multiple media platforms. The event has grown to become a significant occasion on the local cultural calendar and a great platform for emergent artists.

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Client: Artlogic

Artlogic raises the cultural bar in South Africa by partnering with corporate sponsors to create signature events on the local cultural calendar. Notable projects include the production of William Kentridge's interpretation of The Magic Flute and the Joburg Art Fair, which has been an annual event since 2008.

Services:

Design, Branding, Copywriting, Content Strategy and Engagement, Publishing, Web Strategy, Design and Development

Discovery:

As a cutting edge creative agency, Nicework is pretty good at turning art into effective communication pieces, which in turn, translates into profit. Nicework was commissioned to translate the corporate identity of the Joburg Art Fair (JAF), into a coherent and integrated informational campaign that spanned across multiple media channels leading up to the event. The original JAF corporate identity was designed by international design agency Graphic Thought Facility.

Brief:

JAF Website

• Create and establish an online presence for the JAF
• Translate the corporate identity of the JAF into a web-friendly format with good usability
• Create a web interface that is visually engaging and information-rich
• Represent Artlogic as originators of the JAF event

JAF Promotional Material

Billboard

• Design 4 striking and informative billboards to be placed in and around Johannesburg in high-traffic areas
• The design treatment must suit the medium, reflect JAF branding and its sponsors

Building Wraps

• Design 3 building wraps to be placed on highly visible buildings in the Sandton CBD
• The design must be visually engaging- attracting potential visitors to the event
• The design must reflect the JAF branding and promote the primary sponsor FNB

Broadsheet: Joburg Art Week

• Design a newspaper broadsheet promoting Joburg Art Week that will be placed in art magazines and daily newspapers
• Design must reflect the JAF and Artlogic brands but must have the capacity to expand into a freestanding cultural event with its own distinct identity
• Design must include an easy-to-use map indicating the locations of the various events
• The broadsheet must publicise subsidiary events around the week of the JAF and provide information in an easy to use format
• The broadsheet must promote the relevant sponsors

Postcards

• Design a series of postcards showcasing galleries and artists that will be exhibiting at the 2008 JAF
• Design must include the logos of all relevant parties (Artlogic, JAF, Vida e Caffé and contributing gallery) as well as correct captioning for the artwork
• Postcard to be distributed nationwide in coffee store chain Vida e Caffé
• The postcards aim to function as a viral campaign to attract visitors who may not be in cultural circles but have an interest in art

JAF 2008 Catalogue

• Expand the JAF corporate identity into a book-friendly format that will be expressed throughout the layout of the book
• Balance images and content in an inventive and easy-to-use format
• Showcase all the participating galleries and their artists through image-centric design
• Showcase additional JAF Special Projects and artists
• Establish the JAF brand and promote its sponsors

JAF event branding

• Design directional signage, booth signage, and table graphics, for the 2008 JAF that is reflective of the JAF brand identity
• The design treatment must be in a bold and simple graphic style
• Signage must be highly functional and easy to understand

Challenges:

The 2008 Joburg Art Fair was the first art fair of its kind to be held in South Africa. The major challenge was to establish the event and its brand to a market that had never experienced such a cultural event before. Given the lack of local public knowledge about art fairs, design and communication strategies had to be aimed at achieving highly functional, information-rich design.

Another significant challenge was to represent a wide array of individuals, from the client (Artlogic), to the contributing galleries, and the involved sponsors, while maintaining the design integrity of commissioned end products.

Given that Graphic Thought Facility had already prescribed the corporate identity of the Joburg Art Fair, Nicework had to think inventively within these parameters to create an end product that was suitable to each context it was placed.

Tackling the brief:

The Joburg Art Fair Website

A simple and bold design treatment was used for the website to allow the content to come to life. In line with the corporate identity established by Graphic Thought Facility JAF's trademark tabs were used as section dividers. A black background, associated with the Artlogic website, created a link between the event and its organiser. A format was chosen to allow for large image galleries and good usability, particularly information about the event. Press packs were made available for download making the event easy to promote.

Joburg Art Fair Billboards and Building Wraps

The billboard and building wrap design treatments used the coloured tab elements and a dark black background evident in the JAF and Artlogic corporate identity. The layout of copy and design elements were dictated by the orientation of the billboard and building wrap: the billboards had a horizontal orientation, while the building wraps had a vertical one. The primary sponsors' logo (First National Bank) was placed centrally in both compositions to effectively establish FNB as the event's official sponsor. Essential information about the event was supplied in order to clearly describe what the event was ("first African contemporary art fair"), where and when it would be held, and how to get more information (website address).

Joburg Art Fair Postcard Campaign

The JAF postcard campaign was a viral campaign to address individuals who may not necessarily be in the art scene but have an interest in art or lifestyle events. The postcards become a vehicle to generate buzz and conversation about the event. The popular coffee store chain Vida e Caffé was chosen as a key location to disseminate these postcards. The design of the postcards was minimal to showcase the artworks selected. On the back of the postcards the JAF branding featured prominently along with logos from participating galleries and sponsors, as well as information about the event. Postcards were distributed nationwide, but predominantly in the Johannesburg area.

Joburg Art Week Broadsheet

The Joburg Art Week was an independent initiative conceived by Artlogic that would run over the week that preceded the Joburg Art Fair. The Joburg Art Week featured additional cultural events such as the JAF Talks, the JAF party, exhibitions, dining locations and performances. The broadsheet was intended to publicise the event and establish a subsidiary brand to the JAF. The broadsheet format was chosen because it was distributed in local newspapers entertainment and lifestyle sections. The cover page used a limited colour range applicable to the newspaper format but on a higher paper paper to impart exclusivity. The design treatment of the cover page included the iconic Johannesburg skyline (including Ponte Tower and the Brixton tower) in order to prioritise the event location and essential event details. Other significant design features in the broadsheet included a hand-drawn map of the greater Johannesburg area (that spotlighted the locations of the various events), and a footer banner highlighting the sponsors. Content was laid out chronologically so that individuals could easily plan their schedule around the featured events.

Joburg Art Fair Catalogue

The JAF 2008 catalogue had multiple objectives:

• To function as a catalogue of the artworks on sale at the JAF event
• To profile selected artists from participating galleries
• To showcase additional JAF projects such as the curated exhibition 'As you like it' by Simon Njami and the selected artist for that year Robin Rhode

The cover design incorporated the corporate identity of the Joburg Art Fair but extended the signature JAF tabs into long coloured lines. These coloured lines where used inside the book to highlight the beginning of new sections. In the contents page, tabs are used to create a bright modular pattern that meet both aesthetic and functional requirements. In order to manage a large array of information and images, tabs were used throughout the book to mark out various sections, visible on the page edges creating a visually engaging design element. A major challenge was to represent all the participating galleries and maintain the integrity of their brands, while achieving continuity under the JAF catalogue look and feel. In the gallery section a grid format was used for continuity and to give each artwork equal exposure. Innovative design features include a book format that can be read from two directions: one side features the special projects and artists, while the other side, features galleries and profiled artists. Additional noteworthy elements include the user-centric design of a perforated page with a floor plan of the event that could be removed and used at the event. The fold out sections of the book cover feature various photographs taken in and around Johannesburg, firmly locating the event in its context. The catalogue was printed in full colour on glossy laminate paper with a high grammage in order to provide the best platform for the artworks in its pages. The high-level of production and binding resulted in a final product that purveyed quality and prestige and appealed to a high-end market.

The Joburg Art Fair Event Branding

Effective directional signage is simple and clear. Locality is also important in defining a range of symbols because they are dictated by cultural and contextual details. The aim was to create a symbolic and textual language that addressed a wide audience. Nicework utilised the bold colours in the Joburg Art Fair visual identity to create eye-catching signage. At the entrance of the event the logo for the Joburg Art Fair was expanded from tabs to long directional lines that directed visitor traffic. On the floor of the entrance a series of different coloured circles with arrows, symbols and/or text directed visitors to various locations. Each booth was given a structural 'tab' that indicated the booth number and the name of the gallery. A sans serif font was used for better legibility. The number of the booth correlated with the schematic floor plan of the event supplied in both promotional materials and the catalogue. Special project booths were painted black to indicate that they were not part of the gallery mix. Bold large text was used for these booths.

Result:

• Launching the JAF brand and establishing its visual identity through a fully functional integrated campaign across a variety of media platforms
• Establishing the JAF as a significant annual cultural event
• Increased brand recognition by target audiences and potential sponsors
• Establishing Artlogic as a facilitator of cultural events up to international standards
• Giving both the JAF and Artlogic a significant online presence
• A highly successful event that has been hosted successfully for the past three years
• Satisfied sponsors, visitors, galleries, artists and clients
• Very little sleep, but it was totally worth it