The Cascade Festival of African Films is an annual film festival in Portland, OR. It is CFAF’s mission to share their passion for and knowledge of Africa and African cultures through film. Africa has a beautiful and deep rooted history and is made up of a dynamic range of cultures and traditions. I was contracted to create original artwork for the branding of the 28th Annual Cascade Festival of African Films.
It was my goal to capture the beauty that is Africa by delivering a design that celebrates the culture and speaks to the event. My design “Dancing with Film” pictures a woman clad in a brightly colored dress garnished with festive patterns and dancing to Sabar drum music. She is holding a film reel and dancing with the film as if it is a ribbon. I chose a palette with yellow, orange, and purple hues to help communicate feelings of joy, energy, and passion to the audience. Because the festival is meant not only to entertain, but to enlighten people about African culture and history, It was my aim to create a design that speaks a universal message that will easily connect with a diverse range of viewers.
I worked closely with the web team to ensure cohesive branding for the 2018 festival website—africanfilmfestival.org. I was also lucky enough to work with animation artist, Felipe Mirez, who transformed the artwork into a 15–second animation that played as the opener to each of the festival's films. You can check out his work at fmirez.com.
As the lead designer, my role was to establish the branding for the 2018 festival beginning with the promotional poster. That design was then expanded upon to create festival brochures, postcards, merchandise, the website, social media ads and elements for ecommerce.
