Art Direction, trinidad+tobago film festival

Art direction of the trinidad+tobago film festival

When the trinidad+tobago film festival (ttff) busted on the scene in 2006, it did so with a stereotypical brand – the red, black and white of T&T’s flag, and outdated film iconography. Fortunately, in 2008 the decision was made to fix that. In 2009, local design consultancy Abovegroup rebranded the ttff; with Gareth Jenkins taking the lead, they developed the festival’s new logo, palette, typeface, and a set of guidelines that included the use of striking photography from the region. In 2010, I became art director of the ttff; from 2010–2015 I was responsible for the majority of the festival’s graphic design work, and also for guarding the visual components of the festival’s brand – under AG’s guidance in 2010 and solo after (although one or two calls may have been made over the years!).

As art director of the ttff, I had the fortune to collaborate with many creatives, including Alex Smailes, Abigail Hadeed and Arnaldo James, who provided photography over the years and, in 2014, SAYSM, who created our tees, and Elena Molchanova, who did great motion graphics. Also, a talented young graphic designer, Ayrïd Chandler, joined the team part-time in 2013 – her crunch time design contributions were invaluable and, in 2016, she took over the job of graphic designer for the festival, while I moved on to other pursuits.

SUMMARY | Role: Art Director
2010–2015
Original branding by: Abovegroup