Festival concept, name, and visual identity for a monthly classical music festival at Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona — aimed at people under 35 years old.
Customer
Palace of Catalan Music
_______________________
Spain
Year
2025
Background
The Palau de la Música Catalana is one of the world's most iconic concert halls, located in the heart of Barcelona. Despite its status and cultural heritage, the institution faced a concrete problem: people under 35 years old were the most underrepresented group at classical music concerts — even though this same group listens the most to classical music via streaming services. Palau wanted to find a way to bridge the gap between listening and attendance, and turned to OUF with a broad mission: to create a new festival concept, give it a name, and build a visual identity that actually resonates with the younger generation.
Challenge
The challenge was double and partly contradictory. On one hand, the identity needed to break with the perceptions that keep young people away from classical concerts — the notion that it is expensive, formal, passive, and belongs to another generation. On the other hand, it could not distance itself from Palaus' own visual heritage and institutional weight. The communication needed to be direct and honest, never condescending or over-communicated. The target audience is the most media-aware generation yet — they can immediately see through attempts to seem relevant.
Strategy
The work began with an in-depth target group analysis: interviews, surveys, and studies of the connection between classical music, mental health, and concert habits among young people. What emerged was crucial — the target group was already listening, but associated the concert experience with prejudices they did not want to confirm. The strategy became to separate the music from its image: remove distractions and let the music speak. This led to the festival concept <35 — a monthly format at Palau Petit with unique concert concepts each time. The first: The Blindfolded Concert, where the audience listens in almost total darkness, with the option of a blindfold, to eliminate all visual distractions and focus all attention on the sound. The name <35 was chosen for its directness — it is a mathematical statement, not an invitation with nuances. The communication principle that permeated the entire project: openness, clarity, and honesty in every detail.
1
1
The mathematical directness of the festival name
The mathematical directness of the festival name
2
2
Color in the entire identity — black on white
Color in the entire identity — black on white
3
3
Premiere Concert: The Blindfolded Concert
Premiere Concert: The Blindfolded Concert
Visual system
The visual identity is based on a strict black-and-white palette — white represents presence, black represents absence, just like light and darkness in The Blindfolded Concert. The illustration style is one-line art, inspired by the conductor's hand movements: a continuous line that never breaks, just like music. The illustrations are abstract and stripped down — complex emotions reduced to a single stroke. The typography combines Palau's existing fonts: Plantin STD for headings and Avenir LT Std for body text — a conscious respect for the institution's own visual identity. The posters' grid is structured in three columns with a strict hierarchy: the festival logo and concert name at the top, the illustration in the center, Palau's logo at the bottom. Photographs are used sparingly, always in black and white with rounded corners, far from the pomp and grandeur that usually characterizes classical music communication.
Result
<35 established a festival concept with a visual identity that is immediately recognizable and consistently applicable — from posters to digital channels. The design balances Palau's institutional authority with a visual language that speaks directly to a generation used to being underestimated. The Blindfolded Concert as a premiere concept is itself a design decision: removing everything that distracts and trusting that the music is enough.
Deliveries
Festival concept and name strategy (<35), concert format (The Blindfolded Concert), visual identity (black and white palette, one-line illustration system, typography system Plantin STD + Avenir LT Std), poster system for the festival season, campaign specifications, photography and grid rules for all applications.
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Festival concept, name, and visual identity for a monthly classical music festival at Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona — aimed at people under 35 years old.
Customer
Palace of Catalan Music
_______________________
Spain
Year
2025
Background
The Palau de la Música Catalana is one of the world's most iconic concert halls, located in the heart of Barcelona. Despite its status and cultural heritage, the institution faced a concrete problem: people under 35 years old were the most underrepresented group at classical music concerts — even though this same group listens the most to classical music via streaming services. Palau wanted to find a way to bridge the gap between listening and attendance, and turned to OUF with a broad mission: to create a new festival concept, give it a name, and build a visual identity that actually resonates with the younger generation.
Challenge
The challenge was double and partly contradictory. On one hand, the identity needed to break with the perceptions that keep young people away from classical concerts — the notion that it is expensive, formal, passive, and belongs to another generation. On the other hand, it could not distance itself from Palaus' own visual heritage and institutional weight. The communication needed to be direct and honest, never condescending or over-communicated. The target audience is the most media-aware generation yet — they can immediately see through attempts to seem relevant.
Strategy
The work began with an in-depth target group analysis: interviews, surveys, and studies of the connection between classical music, mental health, and concert habits among young people. What emerged was crucial — the target group was already listening, but associated the concert experience with prejudices they did not want to confirm. The strategy became to separate the music from its image: remove distractions and let the music speak. This led to the festival concept <35 — a monthly format at Palau Petit with unique concert concepts each time. The first: The Blindfolded Concert, where the audience listens in almost total darkness, with the option of a blindfold, to eliminate all visual distractions and focus all attention on the sound. The name <35 was chosen for its directness — it is a mathematical statement, not an invitation with nuances. The communication principle that permeated the entire project: openness, clarity, and honesty in every detail.
1
1
The mathematical directness of the festival name
The mathematical directness of the festival name
2
2
Color in the entire identity — black on white
Color in the entire identity — black on white
3
3
Premiere Concert: The Blindfolded Concert
Premiere Concert: The Blindfolded Concert
Visual system
The visual identity is based on a strict black-and-white palette — white represents presence, black represents absence, just like light and darkness in The Blindfolded Concert. The illustration style is one-line art, inspired by the conductor's hand movements: a continuous line that never breaks, just like music. The illustrations are abstract and stripped down — complex emotions reduced to a single stroke. The typography combines Palau's existing fonts: Plantin STD for headings and Avenir LT Std for body text — a conscious respect for the institution's own visual identity. The posters' grid is structured in three columns with a strict hierarchy: the festival logo and concert name at the top, the illustration in the center, Palau's logo at the bottom. Photographs are used sparingly, always in black and white with rounded corners, far from the pomp and grandeur that usually characterizes classical music communication.
Result
<35 established a festival concept with a visual identity that is immediately recognizable and consistently applicable — from posters to digital channels. The design balances Palau's institutional authority with a visual language that speaks directly to a generation used to being underestimated. The Blindfolded Concert as a premiere concept is itself a design decision: removing everything that distracts and trusting that the music is enough.
Deliveries
Festival concept and name strategy (<35), concert format (The Blindfolded Concert), visual identity (black and white palette, one-line illustration system, typography system Plantin STD + Avenir LT Std), poster system for the festival season, campaign specifications, photography and grid rules for all applications.
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