The Rodina has designed a multi-layered identity for the Amsterdam art, science and sound festival Sonic Acts. They have given shape to the festival theme HEREAFTER: an exploration of major themes like inequality through colonisation, immigration and the climate crisis. It emphasises what The Rodina consider to be two basic principles of design: to reveal and to hide. The designers took underground infrastructures as a starting point and reconstructed these from the original plans and architectural drawings of mines. The resulting visual identity has been translated into a large variety of offline and online resources, including a 320-page festival guide and – now characteristic of The Rodina – performative interventions in the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam.

In terms of image, this identity fits seamlessly with the experimental Sonic Acts festival. The Rodina uses a multifaceted, inviting visual language that generates curiosity. Well-considered, tasteful and layered, with a passion for detail and implemented with consistency. The identity serves the festival and is characterised by an artistic freshness that stands out at street level. Seen in its entirety, one of the most powerful overall identities of the past year. Compliments also go to the technical craftsmanship, in the form of cast-iron programming, and to the commissioning party who clearly recognises the importance of giving designers the freedom to be creative.