Carla Llinas
2022
UX/UI
Senior Product / Brand Designer (UX/UI)
Lake Art Fest is an international art festival bringing together artists, galleries, and visitors in a curated cultural experience. The project involved creating a cohesive brand identity and digital presence that could communicate the festival’s values while supporting practical user needs such as event discovery, navigation, and engagement.
The goal was to design a visual and digital experience that felt expressive and artistic, while remaining clear, accessible, and functional for a diverse audience. I worked across brand definition, UX structure, and UI execution to deliver a consistent end-to-end experience.
The Challenge
As a growing cultural event, Lake Art Fest needed a stronger and more recognisable identity, along with a digital platform capable of clearly communicating information to visitors, artists, and partners.
Key challenges included:
Defining a visual identity that reflected the artistic nature of the festival without overwhelming usability
Organising complex event information in a clear and intuitive way
Balancing expressive visuals with accessibility and clarity
Creating a system flexible enough to evolve year over year
The experience needed to feel inspiring, while still supporting practical decision-making and navigation.
I led the project across brand and digital design, working closely with festival stakeholders to align on vision, tone, and objectives.
My responsibilities included defining the brand direction, structuring the website’s information architecture, designing user flows, and delivering high-fidelity UI and visual assets. I also ensured consistency across digital touchpoints and supported implementation.
Process
& Approach
The project began with a discovery phase focused on understanding the festival’s audience, values, and positioning. Through stakeholder conversations and content reviews, I identified the need for a brand that felt contemporary, cultural, and approachable.
I analysed comparable cultural events and art festivals to understand common patterns and opportunities for differentiation. This informed early decisions around tone, visual language, and content prioritisation.
From a UX perspective, the priority was clarity. Visitors needed to quickly understand what the festival was, when and where it took place, and how to explore exhibitions and events.
I structured the information architecture to support:
Clear entry points for different audiences (visitors, artists, partners)
Easy navigation between programme, locations, and practical information
Scannable layouts that worked well across devices
User flows were designed to minimise friction and support effortless exploration.
The visual identity was designed to feel expressive and artistic while remaining grounded and readable. Typography, spacing, and colour were used to create a strong visual rhythm without compromising usability.
The UI design translated the brand into a flexible digital system, using modular layouts and consistent components. The website was designed responsively, ensuring a cohesive experience across desktop and mobile.
Outcomes
& Impact
The new brand and digital experience provided Lake Art Fest with a cohesive and recognisable presence across digital channels. The website improved clarity and accessibility of event information, making it easier for users to explore the programme and plan their visit.
The system also created a solid foundation for future editions of the festival, allowing content and visuals to evolve without redesigning from scratch.
Learnings
This project reinforced the importance of balancing expression and usability in cultural and brand-driven work. Strong visual identity can coexist with clear UX when structure and hierarchy are carefully considered.
Working closely with stakeholders helped ensure the final experience remained aligned with the festival’s vision while meeting user needs.
