Hamilton Gardens Arts Festival

KingSt Advertising
Design Lead, Art Direction

As Hamilton's premiere festival offering, the Hamilton Gardens Arts Festival (HGAF) wanted to expand their audience and showcase the full breadth of their arts lineup. With the brief being to develop a magical and whimsical design to span three years worth of festivals, I conceptualised a 'non-denominational' world of whimsy featuring elements that referenced the festival offering and the magical garden setting.

The second in a series of three, 2021 features the festival's host and resident recycling advocate, Matua X, perched high on an apple. A hand emerges from the Waikato River, a symbol of expression and performance, as a statue of the Mad Hatter floats by. Butterflies, a motif from last year's design dance amongst the flowers and moon as goldfish play the trumpet against a fantastical backdrop of colour.

Rolled out across the printed and online programme, website, event collateral and campaign imagery, HGAF saw over 45,000 people attending free and ticketed events over the festival week.