The Folkist Space is a residency in Utica, NY, that offers artists a blend of solitude, community, and creative support. Led by Nora Revenaugh, it provides funded stays for artists to rest and reconnect with their practice.
In collaboration with designer Amalie McKracken, potential brand directions were developed for a refresh of Folkist Space’s identity. We offered conceptual visuals and identity options to guide future development. This rebrand brings much-needed clarity to the residency’s identity, showcasing its scrappy, relaxing, and creative atmosphere. It was also important to build an accessible system that was easy for Nora to implement. Deliverables included a brand kit with logo marks, type system, color palette, and visual mockups.
Designed by Amalie: Final logos, Newsletter, Website, & Tote
The secondary marks feature maple seed pods native to the Folkist Space area. They echo the same carved quality, connecting back to nature and the raw materials artists often turn to. Nora also had the interesting idea to incorporate aspects of mirroring into the brand, which these secondary marks achieved. Together, these marks reflect the scrappy, handmade spirit of a space where process matters just as much as outcome.
We chose Farro as our header and subheader type to have a display with simple but interesting letterforms and paired it with the classy Farnham Text for body copy.