01Trait
Bold
Confident — not aggressive
The festival takes positions on the films it programs and the conversations it starts. That confidence comes from curation, not volume.
Brand Identity/2022–2024
DC/DOX Film Festival
Brand IdentityDesign SystemWeb DesignPrint & CollateralMotion GraphicsEvent Collateral
DC/DOX
A new standard crafted through decisive design + deep expertise.
A bold vision for rapidly establishing itself as the top documentary festival in DC, bolstered by Workhorse’s deep expertise, propelled film luminaries Sky Sitney and Jamie Shor to pioneer a transformative era for documentary cinema in DC.
Brand IdentityDesign SystemWeb DesignPrint & CollateralMotion GraphicsEvent Collateral
Showcasing powerful, timely stories in the nation's capital, DC/DOX Festival brings together innovative visions, bold voices, and truth seekers in celebration of documentary cinema.
Design System
A bold identity for documentary cinema in the nation’s capital.
We built DC/DOX’s brand as a complete system: color, typography, voice, and visual language designed to feel credible from year one and hold up across festivals, press, and digital touchpoints.
2022Brand Launch
3Festival Years
200+Films Screened
DCWashington, DC
“Like brilliantly edited magazines, the best film festivals create unexpected juxtapositions: felicitous coincidences in theme, feeling and discovery that make the holistic experience even more powerful than the individual movies on offer.”
Ann HornadayAt DC/DOX, documentaries take on the moment
“DC is a crucial venue for documentary films because of the large number of journalists, politicians, advocates, and activists who are many of the festival attendees.”
Washington Film Institute
“The best film festival in the D.C. and Baltimore region and one of the best documentary film festivals in the country.”
Matt NeufeldSource
Washington Film Institute
“A stellar, captivating, well-structured, intelligent, engaging and provocative documentary film festival.”
Matt NeufeldSource
01Color System
Color Palette
Black
SurfaceHex#0a0a0a
RGB10 · 10 · 10
HSL0° · 0% · 4%
CMYK0 · 0 · 0 · 96
■ 1.1:1□ 19.8:1
Gold
AccentHex#fed100
RGB254 · 209 · 0
HSL49° · 100% · 50%
CMYK0 · 18 · 100 · 0
■ 14.3:1□ 1.5:1
Metallic
PrintHex#c5a44e
RGB197 · 164 · 78
HSL43° · 51% · 54%
CMYK0 · 17 · 60 · 23
■ 8.8:1□ 2.4:1
White
TypeHex#ffffff
RGB255 · 255 · 255
HSL0° · 0% · 100%
CMYK0 · 0 · 0 · 0
■ 21.0:1□ 1.0:1
Gray
SecondaryHex#a0a0a0
RGB160 · 160 · 160
HSL0° · 0% · 63%
CMYK0 · 0 · 0 · 37
■ 8.0:1□ 2.6:1
Contrast Pairings
How the palette colors perform together — text on surface combinations ranked by contrast ratio.
Aa
Black
on White19.8:1 ✓
Aa
White
on Black19.8:1 ✓
Aa
Black
on Gold13.5:1 ✓
Aa
Gold
on Black13.5:1 ✓
Aa
Black
on Metallic8.3:1 ✓
Aa
Metallic
on Black8.3:1 ✓
Aa
Black
on Gray7.6:1 ✓
Aa
Gray
on Black7.6:1 ✓
Aa
White
on Gray2.6:1
Aa
Gray
on White2.6:1
Aa
Metallic
on White2.4:1
Aa
White
on Metallic2.4:1
02Typography
Type System
Showcasing powerful
Showcasing powerful, timely stories in the nation’s capital, DC/DOX Festival bri...
Showcasing powerful, timely stories in the nation’s capital, DC/DOX Festival brings together innovative visions, bold voices, and truth seekers in celebration of documentary cinema.
Space Mono · 0123456789 · 400–700
Tomato Grotesk
Display (700)Body (400)
Display
All headlines, posters, wordmarks — the bold condensed grotesque that defines DC/DOX
Body
Body text, descriptions, and digital interfaces
Space Mono
Mono (400–700)
Mono
Secondary type — metadata, dates, technical text, and catalog details
03Logo System
Marks & Lockups
A system that grew with the festival.
What started as a wordmark in 2015 grew into a complete mark library — lockups, compact icons, laurels, anniversary seals, sub-brand treatments, and social assets. Each addition answered a real need as the festival expanded.
01Primary Badge
02Horizontal Lockup
03Laurel Lockups
04Brand Language
4.2/ from the founding belief
Values
The operating system. What the brand commits to, every time.
01
Discovery
Programming that anticipates where documentary is going, not where it has been.
02
Community
Bringing journalists, filmmakers, and engaged citizens into the same room.
03
Truth
Non-fiction takes a position; the festival defends the work that does the same.
04
Resilience
The festival exists because the team rebuilt what AFI Silverdocs left behind.
05
Innovation
Risk-taking and new voices over safe programming and known names.
4.3/ from those values
Character (Brand Personality)
Five traits that turn values into behavior.
02Trait
Intimate
Personal — not exclusive
Small enough to feel like you know the programmers. Large enough to attract the films that matter.
03Trait
Visionary
Forward-looking — not pretentious
Programming that anticipates where documentary is going, not where it has been.
04Trait
Intelligent
Substantive — not academic
The audience is journalists, filmmakers, and engaged citizens. The brand speaks to that intelligence without lecturing.
05Trait
Captivating
Magnetic — not sensational
The work draws people in through craft and story, not shock value or controversy.
4.4/ from those traits
Brand Pillars (Messaging)
The three things this brand always says — the messages every piece of work ladders back to.
01Pillar
Connecting Communities
Fostering Collaboration
Bringing together the creative community, professionals, and change makers through the power of non-fiction storytelling.
02Pillar
Monumental Shifts
Leading the Change
Serving as the barometer and launching pad for groundbreaking ideas, discussions, and dialogue.
03Pillar
Rising Above
Elevating the Craft
Centering resilience, grit, risk-taking and innovation in order to elevate new voices and pioneers in documentary filmmaking.
4.5/ from all of the above
Voice
How the brand sounds out loud — the tone every word inherits.
Bold/Curious/Captivating/Intentional
01
Speak with the confidence of a festival that belongs here.
02
Documentary is not niche. Position it as essential culture.
03
Be warm to newcomers, credible to industry insiders.
“
DC/DOX sets out to prove that film festivals still matter.
The Washington Post, 06.16.23
When documentary mainstay AFI Silverdocs decided to exit DC, festival alumnus Sky Sitney and Jamie Shor did not take it easy—instead, they took over.
The goal was to create an influential, classic, and long-lasting brand identity to set the tone for a new, visionary era of documentary film in DC.
System / Artifacts
The system, in your hands.
Tokens in DTCG format. Figma library. Code package. And a live voice demo so the AI reads this brand back to you, not some generic studio voice.
Voice demo
Hear DC/DOX speak
Pick a prompt to see a response drafted in this brand’s voice.
Shaping the Future, One Visionary Brand at a Time
Workhorse Brands: Built for the Long Run.
Collaborating closely with the founders, we meticulously crafted the foundational brand identity, design system, and website.
This strong, simple, and visually captivating brand has fueled the festival’s rapid and intentional growth.
Powerful, authentic, and immersive brands for science, art, and culture since 2014.
For over a decade, we’ve empowered ambitious individuals to build ambitious brands through strategic storytelling, precise aesthetics, and robust systems.
“Brand Sprints” might just be a fancy term, but if it means we deliver fast, impactful results on time, then we’re ready to run.
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