Grimmfest

Overview

Grimmfest has been celebrating the darker side of cinema since 2009 — starting as a showcase for independent horror, and gradually broadening its remit to embrace genre film in all its forms. By 2023, the festival had outgrown its original identity. The skull-and-blood aesthetic that had defined its early years no longer reflected what the event had become, and the team wanted something that felt more considered without losing its edge.

Approach

Coming in through a referral, the brief was clear: rebrand the festival and design a new digital home for it. The challenge was finding a visual language that felt genuinely cinematic — not obviously horror, but unmistakably dark.

The solution was restraint. Rather than reaching for the obvious, we looked for something quieter and more confident. The logo hides a subtle nod to classic vampire lore within its letterforms — a detail that rewards a second look without announcing itself. It's the kind of mark that feels at home on a film festival poster as much as a website header.

The website was built in collaboration with Bigger Bang Creative, carrying the identity through to a clean and purposeful digital platform designed to serve both audiences and press.

Outcome

The rebrand gave Grimmfest a identity that finally matched its ambition — sophisticated enough for the festival circuit, with enough character to stand apart from it.