New identity from design studio Alphabetical centres around Mayan patterns

As briefs go, I can imagine that there are worse ones out there than the challenge of creating an identity for UK/Mexico 2015, a year-long festival which celebrates the overlap of culture between the two countries. Still, design studio Alphabetical had their work cut out for them when it came to creating a concept which unifies two such different cultures and languages.

In the end, they found the solution in a bespoke typeface. “We placed a bespoke typeface at the heart of the identity that celebrates both nations speaking as one by uniting a British-inspired sans serif with a custom Mexican design based on traditional Mayan patterns,” the studio says. “This gives the festival a distinctive and flexible tool that can be used globally on any collateral.”

Pair this with some nifty typographic animations, an enviable spread of printed assets and a series of black and white images overlaid with the custom-made lettering, and you’ve got a magnetic, cohesive concept coupled with strong execution.