Winnipeg Folk Festival

As one of Canada’s most iconic music festivals, the Winnipeg Folk Festival had a strong visual personality—but no consistent identity system. The brand had become synonymous with its annual event visuals—playful, eclectic, and creatively distinct each year. But as the organization expanded its offerings beyond the summer festival, it needed a clearer, more consistent identity to represent the parent brand across all seasons and platforms.

The solution centred around a refined wordmark that paid homage to a recurring symbol from the festival’s past: the banjo. Redesigned with custom lettering, the new mark integrated the circular banjo body into the letter “O,” while the organic shapes extending from the headstock suggested growth and transformation. These subtle details helped signal the festival’s evolution—from a singular annual event into a year-round cultural organization with an increasingly diverse lineup and broadening appeal.