Neo Neo returns with a playful brand identity for La Bâtie’s art fest

From September 2 to 17, La Bâtie - Festival de Genève will plunge the city of Geneva into an artistic frenzy as contemporary theatre and dance shows, electronic DJ sets or rock concerts are all a part of this year’s flamboyant program. In sync with the festival’s artistic essence, Swiss studio Neo Neo created once again the identity of the festival and it’s weird and playful as ever.

“We wanted to create lightness and absurdity. It was a simple idea but we thought let’s cover it with toothpaste, make it fresh. We wanted nonsense to be the concept,” says Xavier Erni co-founder of Neo Neo. “We wanted those big toothpaste traces to be a fresh pop culture emblem covering some cheap pictures disproportionately” he commented on the festival’s whimsical identity. As the toothpaste takes center stage for this year’s art fest, a custom made font sans serif font gave the message the clarity it demands.

This is the second time Neo Neo proved their extraordinary craftsmanship. Last year’s childlike identity was communicated through a series of cartoon-like characters, bold typography and a red and white square repeat pattern. “What we, and the festival, like about the identity is that it’s simply really weird and absurd to have toothpaste as a main campaign motif for an artistic festival,” says Xavier.