Jazz LA
Self Study
Brand Identity \ Print Design
Breathing new life into one of the most influential genres of music.
The Jazz LA festival was created to revitalize the jazz scene in Los Angeles and inject jazz back into popular culture. With this in mind, Jazz LA's identity was created with the intent of providing a new modern look for jazz that younger generations would be drawn towards. This manifested in choosing bold colors, inclusion of sans serif typefaces, and pulling from modern design trends. It wouldn't be right to ignore the history of Jazz though. Elements of the logo and color palette were created to honor the rich history of the genre.
Logo Selection
The Jazz LA logo evokes a similar emotion to jazz music while maintaining a modern feel. Foremost, it creates a sense of movement that emulates how dynamic and shifty jazz music can be. Additionally, the logo can be seen as a top down view of a concert stage. In this, the center circle represents a physical stage and the surrounding organic shapes represent sound coming from the stage.
Logo Process
Initial logo ideation for this project was expansive and diverse. With this, I wanted to explore the possibilities of what could represent jazz music without it feeling too cliche or seen before. Tying back to the idea of fostering originality as jazz musicians often do, I wanted to create something unique, but still feeling like it reflects the genre.
Typeface Selection
Brand typefaces were chosen to reflect the main two aspects of the brand’s visual identity: classical jazz and a desire to be modern. Both typefaces are easily readable and play off of one and other to create the dynamic of timeless style and modern simplicity when needed.
Collateral
The Jazz LA poster was created as advertisement and a piece of the festival experience. The poster asks consumers to listen to a local jazz radio station for tickets and information about the festival. This pushes visitors deeper into local culture and enhances their festival experience.
