Luminato Festival
Each year, Luminato—Canada’s leading international festival—lights up Toronto for three weeks of extraordinary art experiences. Distinctly Toronto, proudly Canadian and totally Global, Luminato welcomes the world to encounter our streets, stages and stories through bold, playful, and of-the-moment art.
Incoming Artistic Director Olivia Ansell’s adventurous vision for the Festival set the stage for a complete brand transformation. The goal: reflect the ambitious creative direction, engage long-time supporters, and captivate new audiences.
Our task: develop a dynamic, expressive, and future-proof identity system that would work across every touchpoint—from large-scale signage and stage visuals to social media and digital marketing—while remaining flexible enough to evolve with each year’s unique festival programming.
Creative Approach
Through brand audits, audience insights, and a review of global festival benchmarks, we surfaced Luminato’s distinct character: joyful disruption, artistic risk-taking, and the transformational energy of the city on the cusp the summer solstice. Among our many creative explorations, one concept clearly stood out: Light Beam. Rather than portraying light literally, we explored it as a metaphor — a directional, pulsing force akin to stepping into the spotlight, of being swept up in something bigger.
Light Beam became the focal point of this kinetic, contemporary visual system designed to inspire and adapt. Key elements include:
- Dramatic colour palette: From sunlit hues to deep night tones, the palette echoes the Festival’s day/night rhythms
- Radiant gradients: Suggestive of presence and energy without literal light
- Kinetic type treatments: Inspired by movement, choreography, and spotlight shifts
- Directional beams: Framing and amplifying content across platforms
The identity system creates a cohesive profile across the full spectrum of touchpoints:
- Print collateral and posters
- Animated social assets
- Festival signage and passes
- Custom stationery and merchandise
- Website elements and digital templates
- A complete update, including renaming, of the Festival’s podcast, LuminoCity
Beyond the visuals, we crafted a playful, welcoming, and creatively provocative brand voice that mirrors the Festival’s artistic ethos, drawing audiences into the experience with clarity and confidence. The identity’s “glow-up” debut came to life at Toronto’s Sankofa Square (formerly Yonge-Dundas Square), where a gigantic, multi-screen simultaneous digital activation immerses festival-goers and passersby in the spotlight, putting Luminato centre stage at the city’s core.
The identity system is a bold, ownable brand that reflects the Festival’s evolving vision, captures its cultural vibrancy, and builds recognition year over year. Designed for flexibility and creative longevity, it’s a brand framework that can scale and shift with each festival season, while always feeling unmistakably Luminato.
