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O Street injects some fun and optimism in 'online at home' rebrand for Glasgow Film Festival

Glasgow design studio O Street has worked with local independent cinema, Glasgow Film Theatre, to rebrand its beloved annual festival.

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Glasgow Film Festival 2021 poster with orange header, colourful illustrated icons around the border, and central blue design featuring a stylised cinema screen emitting rainbow light rays beneath a crescent moon

Running for 15 years, Glasgow Film Festival (GFF) is considered one of the friendliest events in the city's calendar and brings together highlights of independent and underground cinema alongside well-loved classics and emerging talent. Of course, this year's festival will take place online. Although that doesn't mean it'll skimp on the quality mix of UK and world premieres, O Street's role was to bring the personality of the festival to life on our screens, showcasing the city at the heart of the action through the "emotion, excitement and thrill" of film.

The new logo for GFF is minimal, adaptable, and gives centre stage to the screen. O Street then brought the rebrand together through "full technicolour" animation, pairing it with a playful set of illustrated icons that serve as tributes to the world of cinema and the city. The festival's trailer features a custom soundtrack, edited to include familiar cinema soundscapes, from audience cheers to a running projector.

Glasgow Film Festival logo in black text with a minimalist film frame icon on a bright yellow background
Colourful mural projected onto a brick building facade showing the Glasgow Film Festival branding alongside abstract geometric shapes in blue, green, orange and yellow with small star details

There's also an 'online at home' aspect to this year's festival – something O Street considered in its fresh identity for the brand. Its visuals highlight the playful juxtaposition between the glamour of cinema and watching movies in your PJs.

"The outcome feels like a true reflection of our vibrant and eclectic home city, and it was a great opportunity to work on the identity of a festival that we all know and love," says David Freer, director of O Street. "One of the challenges of the project for both the GFF team and ourselves has been adapting to the changing Covid landscape in the run-up to the festival, but our flexible system proved up to the task, moving across print and posters to being mostly digital and animated content, and my favourite addition – a custom festival selfie filter for Instagram!"

Glasgow Film Festival promotional poster on a street-side advertising column featuring a colourful design with a rainbow light beam and cinema-themed icons
Three posters displayed on a grey wall: a Bon Iuer poster for Glasgow, a colourful Glasgow Film Festival poster featuring a circus tent and playful icons, and a minimalist poster with a snowy forest scene
Colourful street mural on a brick wall featuring geometric shapes and the Glasgow Film Festival text in white lettering, with blue, yellow, orange, green and red design elements
Glasgow Film Festival's colourful rebrand banner featuring a tent and moon design with the GFF logo on a website layout mockup
Colourful striped triangle pointing upwards with Glasgow Film Festival Audience Award 2021 badge at top against blue background
Glasgow Film Festival logo in six colour variations on black background, designed by O Street
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