Paléo FestivalJump for Joy

Capturing the creative energy at one of Europe’s most important festivals

Paléo Festival, a major cultural event in Switzerland, is enjoyed each summer by a quarter of a million attendees who come to experience music and shows across seven different stages. While its scale has grown significantly, the event’s grassroots spirit is projected through an exuberant yet coherent identity that also encapsulates the exhilaration of live performances.
What began as a stage in a community hall with 1,800 spectators has grown into one of Europe’s most important open-air festivals, attended by 250,000 revelers over six days and nights. During its almost 50 years of existence, Paléo Festival has undergone immense structural changes, yet maintained the spirit and flame that has kept audiences entertained and returning since 1976. Each edition features a cutting-edge program that aims to bring out intense emotions, while cultivating a sense of unconventional hospitality that seduces both international headliners and young local talent.

At a turning point in Paléo’s history, the festival team asked Base to help assert its brand image and rationalize the use of its communication tools, from signage to digital. Without distorting the spirit of the event, and to anchor it in the present and the future, a concept was developed to offer a strong and perennial structure, while leaving a huge place to the creative freedom that Paléo has always cultivated.
The typography, with its dancing letters, pays homage to Paléo’s energetic attendees who move and vibrate together during the epic music sets. The type system, which also integrates the festival logo, defines a framework that’s powerfully recognizable, but flexible enough to integrate visuals that change with each edition. These posters are created in collaboration with HEAD Geneva School of Art and Design, during annual workshops that encourage students to push the limits of their creativity, while aligning with the values of the event.
Concluding another successful edition in August 2022, Paléo remains a prominent fixture on the European cultural calendar, and retains its ethos of openness and togetherness for all who attend.

Paléo Festival, a major cultural event in Switzerland, is enjoyed each summer by a quarter of a million attendees who come to experience music and shows across seven different stages. While its scale has grown significantly, the event’s grassroots spirit is projected through an exuberant yet coherent identity that also encapsulates the exhilaration of live performances.

What began as a stage in a community hall with 1,800 spectators has grown into one of Europe’s most important open-air festivals, attended by 250,000 revelers over six days and nights. During its almost 50 years of existence, Paléo Festival has undergone immense structural changes, yet maintained the spirit and flame that has kept audiences entertained and returning since 1976. Each edition features a cutting-edge program that aims to bring out intense emotions, while cultivating a sense of unconventional hospitality that seduces both international headliners and young local talent.

At a turning point in Paléo’s history, the festival team asked Base to help assert its brand image and rationalize the use of its communication tools, from signage to digital. Without distorting the spirit of the event, and to anchor it in the present and the future, a concept was developed to offer a strong and perennial structure, while leaving a huge place to the creative freedom that Paléo has always cultivated.

The typography, with its dancing letters, pays homage to Paléo’s energetic attendees who move and vibrate together during the epic music sets. The type system, which also integrates the festival logo, defines a framework that’s powerfully recognizable, but flexible enough to integrate visuals that change with each edition. These posters are created in collaboration with HEAD Geneva School of Art and Design, during annual workshops that encourage students to push the limits of their creativity, while aligning with the values of the event.

Concluding another successful edition in August 2022, Paléo remains a prominent fixture on the European cultural calendar, and retains its ethos of openness and togetherness for all who attend.