ONE Musicfest

ONE Musicfest is an annual music festival held in Piedmont Park, Atlanta, where hip-hop, R&B, and soul come together to celebrate Black culture through music, art, and community. This project focused on rebranding the festival and designing a wayfinding system that could support a large-scale, immersive experience.

The challenge was to create a brand identity that felt iconic while staying true to the original vision of the festival’s founder, Jason “J” Carter. He launched ONE Musicfest after recognizing a lack of outdoor music festivals in the South that blended hip-hop, R&B, and soul. His goal was to create a shared space that celebrates the complexity of Black culture and welcomes people of all ethnicities and backgrounds.

Through research and by keeping Carter’s vision at the forefront, a phrase emerged: “Atlanta’s ultimate mixtape, dropped live once a year.” This quickly became the guiding tagline for the rebrand. It reflected the “gift” Carter wanted to give the South—a mixtape of blended genres centered on uplifting Black artists—with Atlanta serving as the hub where it all comes together once a year.

The mixtape concept informed the logo design and typographic direction, while the color palette and photography treatments were inspired by the 1980s, balancing nostalgia with a modern appeal for younger audiences. Once the new brand was established, the focus shifted to designing a wayfinding system for Piedmont Park. Clarity was essential, with a strong typographic hierarchy and a cohesive visual language applied across signage, entrances, and key touchpoints throughout the park.

Overall, this project explores how environmental branding can enhance both brand experience and recognition. It reinforced the importance of listening not only to the client, but also to the people interacting with the brand and designing with their needs in mind.

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