Paramount Summer Classic Film Series Branding
Project Details
Summer 2025
Event Branding
Deliverables:
Brand Concept (logo, typography, artwork)
Printed Schedule
Merch (poster, T-shirts, sticker, pin)
Digital & Print Ads
Digital Signage
Social Media Graphics
Window Clings
Step & Repeat
Badges
It was a delight to create the branding for the 2025 Summer Classic Film Series at the historic Paramount Theatre in Austin, Texas. In its 51styear, the series is an iconic summer tradition celebrating cinema in all its diversity.
As an avid film fan and theater-goer, my goals for the design were threefold: 1) to showcase the films themselves in order to get audiences excited about this year's lineup, 2) to use colors and/or imagery that evoke the blazing heat and carefree spirit of Austin summers, and 3) to create a design that connects to film. The brand also needed to be flexible and scalable in order to encompass the many print and digital touchpoints that are necessary for an event of this size.
Challenge & Discovery
The greatest challenge that arose during the ideation process was that the lineup hadn't been announced, so I couldn't pull inspiration from the specific films that would be shown. To work around this, I made a list of common genres and themes that had appeared in previous years and began the ideation process from there.
In addition, 2025 marked the 51st Summer Classic Film Series, which meant that this year's design needed to be unique among 50 previous designs. This was a tall order and required thorough research and sketching.
Discovery included: Researching previous lineups and previous years' designs; researching vintage film posters and title sequences; and creating lists of words related to Austin, summer, classic, and film.
Ideation
Sketches
Early ideation focused on ways to tie film in with a hot summer mood using color and imagery.
Pattern Experiments
I experimented with different ways to use pattern as an eye-catching and flexible way to showcase the films.
Type Experiments
The typography for the film series was influenced by vintage film credits and title cards.
The bouncy mid-century type favored by Saul and Elaine Bass was an inspiration during this phase, along with other geometric and playful typefaces that would feel at home in '60s films like Zazie dans le Métro.
Ultimately, Giboula by Spaghetype was used for the logotype for its ability to nestle nicely in vertical and horizontal layouts and its round counters that complement the film reel pattern.
Solution
The primary pattern is loosely based on the chromatic prism used in video projection, combined with film reels.
The logotype was designed to incorporate the film reel as well as the year, with vertical, horizontal, and square layout options to suit different needs.
A secondary dark pattern was created for variety.
The colors were chosen for their warmth and vibrancy, echoing the heat and excitement of summer.
And a floral film reel motif was derived from the original pattern by breaking the design into its basic geometric shapes.
Printed Schedule
Icons
For the printed schedule, I created 13 custom icons to represent this year's themes. Each one is 2 millimeters in size when printed.
Icons
For the printed schedule, I created 13 custom icons to represent this year's themes. Each one is 2 millimeters in size when printed.
Deliverables
Reflection
Creating the look and feel of this year's Summer Classic Film Series taught me a lot about designing an expansive brand and attracting attention for large-scale events. It encompassed print and digital production in many formats, including newspaper ads, tiny digital ads, large-scale projected images, window clings, and apparel. The feedback of the marketing team and the opportunity to present to them and gain their buy-in was invaluable.