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Unlocking worlds of wonder for Perth's most ambitious cultural festival.

CLIENT Joondalup Festival

SERVICES

Branding Graphic Design Web Design Web Development Social Media Marketing Paid Advertising UX Design

Portals to the extraordinary.

Joondalup Festival is Perth’s award-winning cultural arts festival – named Australia’s best at the 2023 Australian Event Awards. We worked on the 2025 festival. For 2026, the ambition was to go significantly further.

The brief: keep the two iconic half-circle logo shapes, elevate everything else. Our concept – “Unlock Worlds of Wonder” – transforms those hemispheres into prismatic 3D portals, each one a gateway to the festival’s extraordinary program. The creative pipeline moved from AI-assisted exploration through Blender modelling and into the browser as a fully immersive WebGL experience built with React Three Fiber. The result: 3D portals floating across an oceanic landscape that shifts with Joondalup’s actual time of day – butterflies by morning, fireflies by night.

From there, the system rolled out across the full campaign: social, YouTube, digital ads, signage, print and wristbands. We developed and implemented the marketing strategy across Meta, TikTok, Google, YouTube, email and OOH – with creative and targeting tailored to three distinct audience segments.

PROBLEMS

SOLUTIONS

Problem

Brand needed to match a bolder ambition

The festival had outgrown its visual identity. The 2026 program demanded a creative system that could carry cultural weight across dozens of touchpoints.

SOLUTION

A prismatic identity built from the logo itself

We reimagined the half-circle logo elements as translucent, light-catching 3D portals - shifting colour and form by context, while maintaining instant recognition. The system flexes from intimate gallery events to large-scale waterborne spectacles.

Problem

A static website for an anything-but-static festival

The previous site delivered information but did nothing to evoke wonder. The digital front door needed to feel like stepping through a portal.

SOLUTION

An immersive 3D environment that breathes with the real world

A WebGL experience built with React Three Fiber - 3D hemispheres floating across an oceanic landscape, timecoded to Joondalup's actual time of day. Morning, afternoon and night each bring distinct light, colour and ambient elements.

Problem

Eclectic program, limited artist assets

10+ events - from puppet theatre to immersive drag cinema - many with little or no usable imagery.

SOLUTION

A production workflow that fills the gaps

Using AI-generated visuals as a starting point, we created on-brand material for every event. Each received its own colour gradient, typography treatment and branded imagery. Cohesive program, distinct personalities.

Problem

Needed to work everywhere, not just on screens

Social Media Stories to 15-metre marina hoardings to wristbands - without losing impact at any scale.

SOLUTION

A design system built for every medium

Digital-first applications alongside print and environmental formats. Gradients, typography and the portal motif all scale cleanly from 320px to billboard.

Problem

A big program, three very different audiences

Young families, culture-curious millennials and loyal locals don't turn up to the same places or respond to the same messages.

SOLUTION

Unified strategy, audience-specific execution

Phased rollout across Meta, Google, YouTube and organic social - creative, copy and targeting tailored to each segment. The brand handled cohesion; the campaign met people where they were.

Joondalup-Fest-Billboards

Joondalup-Fest-Kaya

Joondalup-Fest-Bowie

Joondalup-Fest-Acqua-Forte

Frame 2147238342

Joondalup-Fest-Train-Station-Billboard

Joondalup Wristbands

I went to Start to update our existing festival website and fell in love with them right from the 'Start'... I was worried about the short time frame to turn around the changes but from the moment I spoke to Neil, he put me at ease - and convinced me that his dynamic team could rebuild the entire thing instead! A few months later and here I am with a fabulous, funky and fully functional new website & brand. This young, fresh and effervescent team really have their finger on the pulse when it comes to all things digital (and more) and I wouldn't hesitate to work with them again.

Sabrina Beddome

Marketing Manager, City of Joondalup

Technology

CMS WordPress

3D Framework React Three Fiber

3D Modelling Blender

Design Figma

Animation Library GSAP

AI Exploration Midjourney / Higgsfield

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