Eaux Claires – IV
Creating an identity for a festival that doesn’t identify as a festival, but an idea.
Mission
Our mission with Eaux Claires IV was vastly different from the previous three years in many ways, the most obvious being that there was no lineup announced until you arrived at the festival. We worked intimately with the Eaux Claires team – Michael Brown, Michael Perry, Justin Vernon, Aaron Dessner, and Mary Hickson – to truly deconstruct the mold of how a typical festival looks and feels. We wanted to let the fundamentals of what we were creating speak freely and let festival-goers in on the whole process. We collaged words, music, visuals, and a bit of mystery to intrigue people with the idea of what was to come. One of our most challenging and rewarding creative projects to date.
Marketing
Collage: That’s the overall theme we used for the identity of IV – yet moments of simplicity pop up throughout the marketing plan. For a festival born from musicians and artists creating together for the first time, that aesthetic seemed to be a good fit. A series of mysterious mixtapes/podcasts, phone calls, new music teasers, newspaper ads, as well as a giant wheatpaste wall we created – and live-streamed – seemed like a cool way to bring it all together.
Merch
The merch follows that same thread. Collage, distortion, dissonance. We took phrases and moments from the podcasts, as well as Mike Perry’s signature words, and paired them with visuals of distorted photography from the Eau Claire area.
House of IV Stage
Vans’ House of IV stage at the festival – made of wood and scaffolding – was designed and constructed by Ben Krall, Michael Brown, and Neal Perbix. We then designed graphics in wheatpaste form to adorn the panels of the stage, and give it life. With 60+ sheets of paper at 36″ x 48″ plastered to the plywood construction, the stage really took a new form at night when Eric Timothy Carlson and Aaron Anderson projected their visuals on top of the wheatpastes.
Festival
We also designed, created, and executed all of the on-site signage, stage banners, credentials, and festival booklets.
Knorth Team
RT Vrieze – Art Direction, Designer
Chris Bartlett – Photography, Video, Production, Animation
Ann Kennedy – Designer
Nate Vrieze – Photography
Content
Photography
Video Production
Post Production
Color Correcting
Motion Video Direction
Motion Video Production
Narration Editing
Design
Art Direction
Creative Direction
Visual Design
Motion Design
Stage Design
Installation Design
Merchandise
Signage
Illustration
Publication Design
Strategy
Brand Strategy
Content Strategy
Social Media Strategy
Experiential Strategy
Contributors
Ambient Inks – Production
Daniel Wagner – Merchandise Design, Installation
Joe Bettcher – Merchandise Design
Lindsey Cherek – Installation
Kyle Lehman – Photography
Scotify – Photography, Video
Graham Tolbert – Photography
Montgomery Sheridan – Photography
David Szymanski – Photography
Sarah Ferraro – Photography
Zoe Prinds – Photography
Eric Timothy Carlson – Stage Visuals
Aaron Anderson – Stage Visuals