(who is famous for the song “Gucci Gang”) and renowned artists from Korea.”
1The name “World Hiphop Festival” sounds grandiose. What kind of festival is it?
The very first World Hiphop Festival held in 2019 was organized by Creative Motion. Well, the grandiose name was chosen after considering many other options. Since the festival is not one-off event, we thought that a trendy name that sounds witty at the moment will not resonate with the audience of next year.
We thought that the name “World Hiphop Festival” carries a global and universal significance. This year, the festival was held for two days at the War Memorial of Korea and was joined by renowned artists from home and abroad such as Lil Pump. I believe there will be more artists in the next festivals, which means we can expect more from the next events.
2The festival emblem has a 3-dimensional shape. Is there a reason or a concept behind the decision?
The two “V”s are overlapped to make one “W” and they form a crown-shaped emblem. We chose to design a gold-colored logo to represent swag and flex of hip hop. We wanted to develop a festival brand that has a confident look with the three-dimensional logo in gold.
3What did HOHOHO carry out for the festival, which is a large-scale event?
HOHOHO designed a logo, a poster, and other materials for promotion. It was not an easy project since it was our first time to brand a festival, but our experience with a number of exhibitions helped us to prepare. We designed printed materials including posters, banners, and tickets. In addition, we made digital materials for promotion which involved online and social media posts, Interpark, Melon, and the Naver ticketing system.
4Hip hop music is very trendy and there are different sub-genres, right? What did HOHOHO do in order to align the different sub-genres?
The festival invited artists signed to different labels. Each label is known for a different visual and music style. HOHOHO utilized the logo and images under one system in order to emphasize the festival, not the artists. When each artist submitted photos in advance, we learned how different they are; that is why we went through the photo treatment process. For typeface, “Helvetica Neue Condensed Font Family” was chosen for this festival because of its universal appeal. HOHOHO dedicated time and efforts to make different artists blend in this festival.
5The design phases seem unusually short. Is there a reason?
In the first phase, we focused mainly on the festival for promotional purposes. We placed emphasis on the logo on the poster to advertise the festival. We chose to emphasize the festival, not the artists because this event is not dedicated to specific artists. Now that I think about it, I wonder how it would have been if we used photos of each artist for promotion. Anyway, in the second phase, we decided to advertise that Lil Pump is coming to the festival. It was difficult to draft a design because not only the brand value but also the marketing factors are important. HOHOHO successfully handled the task by communicating with the client.
6Why did you place emphasis on Lil Pump to promote the festival?
Lil Pump is a hip hop artist who garners much attention on the global stage. We communicated with the client and decided to spread the news that Lil Pump will visit Korea for the first time to perform at this festival. In fact, more tickets were sold after people knew that Lil Pump will be part of the festival. Therefore, we believe the decision was right.
7What was the biggest challenge?
HOHOHO does not seek to design solely on our own. We want to build each project together with clients. There were challenges regarding image license and limited time window, but we resolved the issues by closely communicating with the client.
8How did the festival go?
Lil Pump indeed made the festival more famous, and renowned artists from Korea performed so well that the audiences were very happy with the festival. I heard that some artists from Korea visited the festival just to see Lil Pump’s performance. The members of HOHOHO also went to the festival to feel the passion and heat together with the audience.
9I heard that the festival will be held each year. Can you share a plan or expected results of next festivals?
We want to make World Hiphop Festival a sustainable long-term event like Seoul Jazz Festival. We would like to invite famous hip hop artists not only from Korea but also from other nations and serve as a venue for artists to meet. I believe the next festival will be even better than the festival this year because we now have more experience with the project.