The Edit: five projects including PORTO ROCHA’s timeless identity for the Sundance Film Festival

Each and every day, we're lucky to discover dozens of interesting and inspiring projects from around the world. From global identities and campaigns to side projects and independently published books, The Edit is home to five of them; every two weeks.

Established in 1985, the Sundance Film Festival is the largest and longest-running independent film festival in the United States. In collaboration with Sundance Institute, the team at New York-based agency PORTO ROCHA developed a comprehensive identity and design toolkit for their 2023 event. Central to this is the new logo, defined by a film-inspired aspect ratio. Thanks to its versatile geometry, it is used throughout the brand assets as a framing device for footage and stills. In a similar fashion, the rest of the brand elements support a multiplicity of layouts and compositions – reflecting the diverse stories and perspectives of the festival itself. 

The digital world – apps, websites and the like – shape much of how we experience life today. At the centre of this, and what we ultimately depend on, is code that works seamlessly. Despite the momentous importance of the software teams and developers driving growth and making it all run smoothly, they are commonly perceived as working behind the scenes instead of getting the credit they deserve. Recognising this, application testing platform SauceLabs teamed up with How&How to create something that would turn things around and appeal to software teams. Central to this is the new logo – parenthesis are crafted to form frictionless shapes that not only resemble an abstract ‘S,’ but also create an abstract bolt in the negative space – expressing the speed and precision of the company. Accompanying this is a colour palette inspired by software testing traffic light systems (pass, issue or fail) – a distinctive core green leads the look supported by amber and coral. 

Operating two vertical farms in Trondheim, The Farm Society explores and develops solutions for urban and Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) with the goal of solving the long transportation problem in the farming industry. Hugmun, a design studio located in Copenhagen, worked with The Farm Society to develop an identity that communicates the company’s altruistic and environmentally-minded ethos. The logotype is a handwritten-style typeface, reinforcing the cheerful character and optimism of the brand. The illustrations too, drawn by Hugmun’s Co-founder Maria Milenko, are filled with charm; depicting the joys that a harvest and fresh produce can bring whilst showing its journey: from farm to restaurant to consumer.

Mesfin&Co is a Geneva-based company specialising in B2B consulting; supporting creative teams and working with them to develop ambitious growth initiatives. They invited Swiss branding and design studio Hymn to create a unifying brand image as well as three distinct visual identities to correspond with their three services: Adhocology (anticipation management), Co-skills (update and renew skills), and Smartesy (unlock and define services). A three-dimensional graphic system is at the heart of the overall look, using angles and movement to a logo and system for each sub-brand. Each receives its own signature colour: lilac for Adhocology, coral orange for Co-skills and mint blue for Smartesy, with anthracite and sand as secondary colours. 

Aimed at young consumers within the Asian market, Eiuchre designs and manufactures stylish, high-quality timepieces. The company, based in Shenzhen, China, invited Madrid-based studio fagerström to develop its identity in time for its inaugural collection. The concept embraces the driving theme of the collection – empathy – which is highlighted by the slogan ‘time to feel.’ It invites and encourages consumers to discover the entire spectrum of their emotions. Whether positive or negative, something valuable can always be learned. An exclamation mark – commonly used within writing to express strong feelings – is the key element of the brand. Within the wordmark, it takes the place of the ‘i.’ Throughout the various outputs – from animated graphics to packaging – this exclamation mark also represents the hour hand of a watch. The rest of the look is kept minimalistic, allowing the serene foil gradients of the packaging to become the main focal point.