WORK
Branding, Editorial and Merchandising
Year
2020
An annual outdoor event in Bogotá bringing opera out of the concert hall and into the park.
As the support designer on this project, I worked with the team to develop parts of the brand identity and social media direction across Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, designing a visual system that balanced the humour and ingenuity the brief called for.
Setup
Before anything was sketched, I needed to understand the brief on a deeper level. The tension at the heart of this project was interesting: how do you blend humour with the tradition and gravitas of opera? That balance became the creative filter for every decision. The audiences were different too, longtime opera lovers, curious newcomers, and everyone in between, all needing to feel welcomed by the same brand.
The breakthrough came from the word itself. Playing with the expressiveness of "Opera," it became clear that the "O" could become "OH!", the Spanish interjection of surprise, and also a syllable that runs through some of opera's most iconic songs, like "Oh! Sole Mio." From there, the logotype took shape across three levels: "Oh!" stacked in two tiers, with "PERA" sitting beneath it. Simple, scalable, and full of personality. The composition works at any size and carries the humour of the concept without ever feeling forced. The visual system was then extended across social media, giving the event a consistent, confident presence on every platform.
The result
The identity found the sweet spot between heritage and accessibility. Playful enough to spark curiosity, yet considered enough to honour the event's history, it reimagined the brand for a broader audience while preserving its character. Although the concept successfully met the brief, the council ultimately chose to pursue an alternative direction.