WHIMSICAL WONDERS
OVERVIEW
The first of its kind in NorCal, Whimsical Wonders Film Festival will take place in Sacramento’s historical theaters, Crest and Tower Theatre. It is a 3-day celebration of classical and new fantasy films, attracting the original fanatics from the 80’s to those new to the genre from all over the nation. From movie screenings, exhibitions, and VR immersive games, visitors will be captivated by the storytelling magic.
To market and plan this experience, Whimsical Wonders Film Festival became a comprehensive project, which emerged branding, marketing collateral, animation, website design, and merchandise to offer a memorable festival experience. User ExperienceSystem ThinkingConceptual Development
SKILLS
YEAR
2023
Writing the Story
To develop the Whimsical Wonders Film Festival identity, reflecting the magic and storytelling of fantasy films was crucial and through deep research the identity came into fruition. In the concepting phase, I kept in mind how to reflect those feelings and capture the essence by referencing classic story tales. By using these key themes, we crafted the Whimsical Wonders logotype with the classic story tale typeface.
Capturing the Crowd
Creating a social media campaign and website is crucial in advertising the film festival. Through social media platforms such as Instagram, the solution was to use these as one vehicle to implement a teaser post of the event, and at later dates reveal more details. In addition, more traditional forms of advertisement include bus shelter advertisement and bus wraps. Stories often slowly reveal the plots and details. Keeping the storytelling aspect in mind, the bus shelter advertisement has a divide that hides a few details, intriguing the viewer and making them want to know more. The immersive nature of fantasy films are often what viewers enjoy about them. For the Film Festival, we hope it emulates the same feeling for visitors, like they are immersed in another realm. This feeling was reflected in the doors of the bus wrap, an arch of trees that allow every person who walks through the bus doors, they are walking into another realm. 
The Story Comes to Life
The identity was able to be applied to other pieces of collateral and come to life in the merch box and invitation for the festival’s exclusive guests. Keeping in mind the immersive nature of fantasy films, opening the merch box unleashes the magic of the film festival with the strong contrast of the exterior and the interior through the use of color. Quality and intricate details in paper goods really elevate the material and truly make the invitee feel special. Following this philosophy, I incorporated a unique die-cut envelope of the magical forest scene, inspired by paper theaters. 
