Stoke-on-Trent City Council approached us to create the identity and website for Stoke Book Festival.
With a completely new event, there was no existing brand to evolve or digital presence to build on. We had the opportunity to shape how the festival would be seen from day one, creating an identity and online experience that could introduce the event, build recognition and help people discover what was happening.
The brief was to create a distinctive brand that felt clearly connected to books and storytelling without falling back on familiar literary clichés.
Alongside the branding, the festival needed a website that could bring everything together in one place, making it easy for visitors to explore the programme, find out more about individual events and move seamlessly through to booking.
With a brand-new festival, we had the chance to shape the look and feel from the very beginning and create something that felt distinctive, memorable and right for Stoke-on-Trent.
We developed a visual identity inspired by books and storytelling. The result is a brand that feels contemporary and full of character, without becoming too traditional or formal. The logo, colour palette and typography all work together to give the event a strong and recognisable presence.
At the heart of the brand is an open book ‘S’, combining a recognisable reference to reading, with a nod to Stoke. We added fine lines radiating from the centre, like pages opening from a spine, adding movement and creating a subtle connection to stories and ideas. Alongside this, contemporary typography helps balance the expressive icon, keeping the overall look modern, approachable and accessible.
As part of the wider brand, we created illustrations for the website, bringing more personality into the digital experience while drawing on Stoke-on-Trent's heritage and character. The illustrations reflect elements of the city and its history, helping to create a visual world that feels distinctly Stoke and gives the festival a sense of place rooted in its surroundings.
To help bring the brand to life across the festival’s wider marketing, we also created an event posted, two-sided leaflet, social profile assets, an animated social media advert and fully editable social media templates. This gave the festival a consistent and recognisable presence across both digital and print, while giving the team flexible assets to use throughout the new event announcements.
The website was designed to make the festival programme as straightforward as possible, with user experience considered throughout.
To help visitors find what they’re looking for quickly, we structured the events area into three clear sections, making the programme easier to navigate and reducing the amount of information users have to look through.
From there, visitors can select an individual event to view further information without leaving the page, before following a clear link directly to the relevant booking platform. Taking a mobile-first approach, we designed the site to work seamlessly across mobile and desktop, creating a smooth and intuitive experience from discovering an event through to securing a place.
With the brand and website now in place, Stoke Book Festival has a distinctive identity and digital home ready for the event.
The next stage is seeing the brand move beyond our screens and become part of the festival itself, building recognition with audiences and giving Stoke-on-Trent an event brand that will hopefully continue to grow in the years ahead.