Galvanized Festival
Refreshing Ipswich's heritage festival brand
A brand refresh for Ipswich City Council's Galvanized Festival, breathing new life into the heritage celebration while maintaining the community recognition built over years.
The Challenge
The festival had recognition. Ipswich knew the brand. But after years, it needed fresh energy.
The trick? Update without erasing. Bring contemporary appeal while keeping the heritage authenticity that made it work. Create a system that adapts year after year without losing its core.
Galvanized celebrates Ipswich's heritage across 10-11 days each September. Historic sites, workshops, tours, social events. It's the city's connection to its past, made accessible. The brand needed to reflect that weight while feeling current.
The Solution
We refreshed the brand identity while keeping what made it recognizable. Updated the visual system, created new collateral, preserved the charm.
Built brand guidelines, billboards, signage, and printed materials for long-term use. The Council can adapt the festival identity annually without starting from scratch. Same core, different imagery each year.
The result is a lasting system. Fresh enough to feel contemporary, consistent enough to build equity year after year.
How It Works
A brand refresh that maintains recognition while bringing contemporary energy to Ipswich's heritage celebration.
Brand Refresh Approach
We identified the core elements that gave Galvanized its recognition and preserved them. Updated typography, refined the color palette, modernized the visual system. The result feels current without abandoning the heritage authenticity that made it work.
Created a modular system that adapts to different imagery each year. Same brand architecture, fresh content every festival.
Long-Term System
Built comprehensive brand guidelines for Council teams to adapt the festival identity annually. Clear rules, easy-to-follow templates, organized asset library.
The system is designed for non-designer adaptation. Ipswich City Council updates festival imagery year after year without needing designer involvement. Consistent brand equity building through a flexible core identity.
What We Delivered
Refreshed brand identity with updated typography and visual system. Brand guidelines for long-term use. Billboards and environmental graphics for city-wide promotion. Signage systems for festival wayfinding. Printed collateral including brochures, flyers, and quarterly guide layouts. MREC banners and social media templates. Complete asset library for annual reuse.
The deliverables support a 10-11 day heritage festival featuring historic site access, workshops (leatherwork, letterpress, blacksmithing), social events, tours, and exhibitions celebrating Ipswich's rich cultural tapestry.
