As the junior graphic designer on the Mission Hill Arts Festival Identity project for 2023, I’m excited to share our journey:

Now in its third year, the Mission Hill Arts Festival has been a platform for urban outdoor arts excellence. Our team at Dan Vlahos Design was tasked with evolving the festival’s visual identity, following our successful work in 2021 and 2022.

The 2023 festival, held at the Tobin Community Center’s adjacent outdoor pavilion, was themed “exuberance.” Our approach focused on a typographic design that expressed and abstractly conveyed waves of exuberance. We aimed to avoid cliché imagery and instead integrate our design into the urban landscape. The dark navy and yellow color palette, reminiscent of silkscreen art, emphasized the festival’s community-based spirit, with typography reminiscent of 1980s “New Wave” design.

The festival brought together avant-garde visual and performing artists from diverse cultures and styles. A highlight was the debut of PULSE, a collaborative chamber work by pianist and composer Kevin Harris and the Windsor Music ensemble, supported by a Live Arts Boston grant from The Boston Foundation.

Our 2023 festival’s success was made possible by the generous support of Arts Talks, the Boston Cultural Council, Celebrity Series of Boston, Northeastern University, Mission Hill Fenway Neighborhood Trust, and many others.

Design Team:

• Design Director: Dan Vlahos
• Designer: Marc Gonzalez
• Client: Luisa Harris, Executive Director

In the media:

• Merrimack Graphic Design Assistant Professor, Students, and Alumni Support Newly Launched Arts Festival in Boston, Merrimack College Campus News, May 2023.
• Mission Hill Arts Festival returns June – August, The Bay State Banner, June 2023.