If you’ve visited the trinidad + tobago film festival website lately or joined our Facebook group, you may have noticed something a bit different. Gone is our old visual identity, which relied heavily—and, we admit, somewhat predictably—on filmic symbolism and a colour scheme of red, black, and white.
Our current mission statement posits us as a “cutting-edge Caribbean film festival that continues to evolve and expand in celebrating expression and empowerment through film.” But, when we placed this statement alongside our old identity, things looked amiss. Someone (alright, I admit—it was me) once said that a poor visual identity is akin to a lovely person posting a terrible photograph on a dating website. Sure, you might be super and all, but not that many people would be stimulated enough for deeper examination.
And so, earlier this year, the festival teamed up with local branding and photography studio, Abovegroup, who quickly whipped us into shape, formulating an identity that matches our mission. Instead of relying on a flag palette to suggest national identity, Above pulled colours prevalent in our landscape, notably during the 1970s. A few clever design decisions, including the subtle extrapolation of the angles present in our flag, and the use of imagery from around our islands helped to root us firmly in place. The resulting look and feel directly reflect the ethos of the festival, to tell Caribbean stories. Our new tagline, “You’re in focus” further emphasizes that the festival belongs to the region—by subject, author, and audience.
We’re currently rolling out our festival poster and billboards, which will be placed in various locations around the country. Keep your eyes open and you’ll see us around.
