DC/DOX.
When AFI Silverdocs left DC, Sky Sitney and Jamie Shor founded a documentary festival to take its place. Workhorse designed the identity, the design system, and the site DC/DOX launched on, and has extended them every year since.
The brief.
When AFI Silverdocs left Washington, Sky Sitney, who had directed it, and Jamie Shor founded DC/DOX to take its place: a documentary festival in the capital, timed to the city that has more journalists, advocates and policymakers in its audience than any other. It screens premieres across four days each June.
The festival had one year to look like an institution the city already trusted. It asked for an identity that could carry a program of premieres, the official poster, a Metro campaign, the passes and the site before the first screening, and could be cut again for every festival after. We delivered the identity and the design system in 2022, the site and the first campaign for the 2023 festival, and have extended them each year since.
01Identity
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 coverage, and the website.
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
01System
Color
Black
Surface
#0a0a0a
Gold
Accent
#fed100
Metallic
Print
#c5a44e
White
Type
#ffffff
Gray
Secondary
#a0a0a0
Type
Display
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.
All headlines, posters, and logo type: the bold condensed grotesque that defines DC/DOX
Body
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.
Body text, descriptions, and digital interfaces
Mono
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.
Secondary type for listing details, dates, technical text, and catalog copy
Marks
02Brand 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.
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.
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. Every piece of work comes back to one of them.
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. They took it 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.
02Campaign
The 2023 festival.
The first campaign ran the identity everywhere the festival touched the city: the official poster, the Metro placements, the Instagram row and the stories for opening and closing night, the passes, the catalog, the screens in the theater, and the badges.
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 carried the festival through a rapid and deliberate expansion.
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.
Schedule a Call
