design mne fest

Design MNE Fest hero banner — purple geometric pattern with event date and Budva location

About the client

Brand identity, website, and marketing design for a design festival

Design MNE fest is an independent event organized by the local community of graphic, UI/UX, and product designers in Montenegro.

Polybox Studio delivered the complete brand identity, website, and marketing design in 2 weeks — logo, visual identity, event collateral, partner presentation, and website.

Problem Statement

Design MNE Fest website shown on laptop with coffee mug — problem statement

Community-based festival needs to have a vibe that speaks to creative people who relocated from the home country, and it needs to strike a balance between being professional and warm and inclusive.

We also know that such events need to be able to reach people both online (like on Telegram and Instagram) and in person at the festival.

Our role

The main goal was to create a visual language that resonated with the experiences of immigrant and nomadic designers. We wanted it to be reflected in every part of the brand – from the color palette and typefaces to the symbols and elements we used.

The idea was to create a sense of belonging and connection, both with Montenegro and with the design world.

— Polybox marketing research

Client's ideas and sketches

Design MNE Fest original client branding — early poster
Design MNE Fest original client branding — profile concepts
Design MNE Fest original client branding —  social posts
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First ideation

Design MNE Fest first ideation — 3D shape evolution from organic to geometric
Design MNE Fest logo drafts — early concept explorations with pixelated cursor motif

We decided to start by creating 3D shapes to sketch out the brand's visual identity and then move on to more essential elements, such as a logo and colors.

logo anatomy

Design MNE Fest final logo variations — six color versions in purple, yellow, and mixed palettes
Design MNE Fest 3D printed keychains in holographic packaging

The Design MNE logo is a pixelated cursor, a common design tool that is filled with intentionally discarded letters, giving it a playful and creative feel.

The logo has been used in various ways, such as for swag items like 3D keychains and photo containers on social media.

Design MNE Fest social media content shown on phones — Instagram stories
Design MNE Fest social media content shown on phones — Instagram grid

Design Rationale

For this festival, we really focused on the uniqueness of the situation – branding for the immigrant/diaspora creative community. We didn't want to go with anything generic or corporate-y. Instead, the branding had to be bold and vibrant, reflecting the community-driven, grassroots nature of it all.

Elizaveta Vakhrameeva, brand designer at Polybox Studio

— Elizaveta Vakhrameeva

Brand designer

Design MNE Fest event badges — yellow lanyards and badge on jacket with keychain
Design MNE Fest badge with purple geometric brand pattern

Presentation for partners

Design MNE Fest partner presentation — main title slide with festival logo

To help establish the credibility of the festival, we created a presentation for potential partners and sponsors.

Design MNE Fest partner presentation slide — about us
Design MNE Fest partner presentation slides — promotion channels

Website design and user experience

Design MNE Fest website homepage on laptop — event details and registration

Beyond the visual aspect of the event, we created a fully functional website using Webflow. We had two main goals: to be the online presence of the festival and attract attendees, and to make it easy for people to buy tickets and find information about the event.

Design MNE Fest group photo — organizers and attendees at the festival
  • Manager
    Valeria Kozlova
  • Web Designer
    Denis Gurkov
  • Designer
    Elizaveta Vakhrameeva
  • Photo
    Alex Popov