Freelance UnlockedBrand manual

Logo

Every year, FUN gets a new theme, and its logo can change with it. A few shared parts and a thread back to earlier editions keep every new logo recognisably ours.

A new logo can be created every year to match its theme’s vibe. Follow some basic rules to stay on brand.

Custom logos

Since FUN themes can have very different treatments, colours and vibes every year, a new logo can be created to match. The golden rule: you must carry forward something concrete from previous editions, whether that’s a typeface, composition or graphic detail. The connection can be subtle, as long as the identity remains recognisable.

FUN26 and FUN27 take different directions, but keep the same style of city label.

Some examples

These FUN28 mock-ups explore different ways to design the same year’s logo, from bold typography to more expressive graphic treatments.

A FUN28 Berlin logo with a heavy FUN, a light short year and a coral city label
A FUN 2028 logo with FUN stacked over the full year in a serif italic
A FUN28 logo with the year in a blue circle and the city in a blue label
A FUN28 logo set as one word in a tilted coral stamp, with the city in a label below

Explorations of different logo treatments, not approved edition artwork.

What every logo needs

Whether you create a custom logo or use the standard version, every flagship event logo needs three elements: the Freelance Unlocked signature, the FUN mark with its year, and a city label.

  1. Freelance Unlocked signature. Above the annual mark, exactly as approved.
  2. FUN and year. FUN and the last two digits of the year. Typography, proportions and treatment can follow the theme.
  3. City label. The city in its own container, designed to fit other city names.
The parts of a flagship event logo, on a custom FUN28 example.

Scaling the event

FUN started in Berlin, but the flagship event may expand to other cities. If that happens, we keep one logo for the year and adapt its city label to each location.

  • Keep the same annual logo across all cities, changing only the city name.
  • Keep the typography and treatment of the city label consistent. Longer names can extend the container or break onto two lines without changing the main mark.
  • City labels can use different colours from the year’s palette, as long as the rest of the logo stays the same.
The custom FUN28 logo for Berlin, with a blue city label
The same logo for Warsaw, with a navy city label
The same logo for Vienna, with a light blue city label

One logo, adapted for different cities.

Colour and versions

Flagship event logos need several versions to work across different formats and applications. When designing a logo, prepare:

  • Colour versions: full-colour, reversed and one-colour treatments.
  • Arrangements: horizontal and stacked versions for different formats.
  • Small-scale use: a version that remains recognisable and legible at very small sizes.
  • Favicon: an appropriate treatment for browser tabs and other icon-sized applications.

Use the approved colour combinations and make sure each version works at its intended size.

If for some reason we aren’t designing a new logo in a given year, we can use the standard logo instead. Its construction is fixed, and its proportions are a useful reference for custom logos too. Here’s how it works.

The standard FUN28 Berlin logo: the Freelance Unlocked signature above a heavy navy FUN with a light coral 28, and Berlin in a coral label
The standard logo, FUN28 Berlin. X is the height of the signature and W its width.

Versions

The standard logo includes a full version and a compact arrangement for smaller applications.

The standard FUN28 Berlin logo in full colour
The compact FUN28 logo in full colour: the Freelance Unlocked symbol beside FUN28
Full colour.
The standard FUN28 Berlin logo reversed on navy
The compact FUN28 logo reversed on navy
Reversed, on navy.

Incorrect usage

Keep the flagship logo consistent and connected to the Freelance Unlocked identity. Avoid these mistakes.

  • Don’t omit the Freelance Unlocked signature from the full logo.

  • Don’t place the signature below the FUN mark.

  • Don’t create different annual logos for different cities in the same year.

  • Don’t use colours or graphic treatments that clash with the institutional identity.