303 MullenLowe Rebrands Fremantle Street Arts Festival With Bold New Identity

In the leadup to one of the world’s best street theatre events -- the Fremantle International Street Arts Festival (FISAF) -- 303 MullenLowe has unveiled a new brand and supporting campaign to help drive attendance and awareness.

Aimed at positioning FISAF as a vibrant, marquee WA event that delivers accessible, culture-rich experiences in the one location, the new assets and visual ID will be seen across the event’s website, on promotional materials, plus social, bus-backs and OOH.

They are part of a broader brand strategy and concept, plus overall visual identity developed by 303 MullenLowe, to help “ensure the event and the local region is consistently recognised amongst arts and culture lovers throughout WA, Australia and overseas,” explained 303 MullenLowe Perth chief strategy officer Matt Oakley.

“FISAF is a fantastic, homegrown event that already appeals to a wide demographic while helping people feel connected to the community. The event has a loyal return audience, along with a strong track record of recommendations to friends and colleagues,” he said.

“But what started as a small collection of performers 25 years ago has grown and evolved into a hugely eclectic festival to be respected and revered. Fremantle locals know and love it, and the time has come to show the rest of WA that it’s a festival like no other. In addition, it provides the opportunity to strengthen awareness of Walyalup | Fremantle as an authentic arts and culture destination, while engaging local, regional and national partners to enhance the FISAF experience through complementary offerings. Its brand needed to reflect this larger presence and regional impact, and we believe it now positions FISAF as a confident and matured event with an abundance of vibrant and accessible experiences.”

303 MullenLowe Perth’s head of design Alby Furfaro said of the new brand, “The new brand direction captures the city’s eclectic spirit and history through typography pulled from the heritage facades, and bold, playful colours and patterns inspired by murals in the Freo area. Teamed with unusual graphic imagery, each represents the many ways audiences can encounter the festival -- through seeing, hearing, and moving -- inviting them into an interactive, sensory experience.”

City of Fremantle -- art audience and engagement lead Prudence Riley said, “Each year over the Easter long weekend, the streets of Fremantle are transformed into an open-air theatre of international, national, and local performance artists and musicians. Combine this with Fremantle’s famous alfresco dining, bars and eateries and the area is transformed to deliver a multisensorial experience that is difficult to replicate.

“We’re incredibly excited to see our new brand direction come to life to reflect the amazing atmosphere of this festival. We love that it celebrates the coming together of eclectic and weirdly wonderful performances from across the globe right here in Walyalup | Fremantle, that you likely will never have the opportunity to experience again.”

FISAF uses several major ‘pitches’ or performance locations in Fremantle, along with roving performers that appear in surprising and interesting places across the City. The four-day program offers day and night experiences and engagement with more than 70 artists across street theatre and performance, dance, interactive, music and busking.