From a faceless, corporate music event
To a gritty, definitively Boston music festival.
CHALLENGE
Boston Calling — a three-day, major music festival owned by Madison Square Garden Company — was a draw for major artists like Kendrick Lamar, Tyler the Creator, Metallica, Eminem, Foo Fighters, Rage Against the Machine, The Lumineers, Vampire Weekend and more. Once a standout local event, the brand had become indistinguishable from larger, glossier competitors like Coachella, Bonnaroo, and Lollapalooza. The challenge: overhaul the festival’s identity to make it feel authentically Boston again — bold, witty, and unmistakably alive.
STRATEGY
The strategy was simple: make Boston Calling feel like Boston — a mix of history, humor, and heart. Instead of chasing the polish of national mega-festivals, we leaned into the city’s character — equal parts Ivy League intellect, D.I.Y. punk scene, and streetwise charm. The goal was to create a design system that could flex across analog and digital worlds while capturing the irreverent energy of the fans themselves. By rejecting perfection, we gave Boston Calling an identity that could only belong to one place.
CREATIVE SOLUTION
We started literally back at the drawing board — sketching hundreds of dogs, bowler hats, and bold marks until we found the perfect balance of legacy and looseness. The new identity paid homage to the festival’s heritage while injecting humanity and humor into every touchpoint. A custom font family, Boston Calling Sans, was created to embody the brand’s personality: wonky, imperfect, and friendly. The new look stretched seamlessly from posters and merch to digital and social environments, creating a modern system that felt hand-made, not manufactured. To extend reach, the design system even made its way onto shelves — through a unique Costco ticketing partnership that brought the brand into the real world in an unexpected way.
COLLABORATORS
Jon Contino
Brickyard
Crashline Productions
Madison Square Garden
