IMPARES by CotecAll casesA documentary film festival doesn't need to look institutional to be rigorous: how to build a memorable visual identity.

Fundación Cotec launched IMPARES, a documentary film showcase focused on social impact, inequality and innovation. They asked us to create a brand from scratch that would draw a general audience without losing the rigour that defines the institution.

We took on the naming, the graphic identity and the full rollout of wayfinding and communications so the in-person experience would be as exacting as the films themselves.

IMPARES started from a strong idea: documentaries that show uneven realities and set out to spark social debate. What it lacked was a name, a visual code and a structure to gather these works under one recognisable umbrella. The message about social inequality and progress was the selected documentaries' greatest asset, but it needed a semantic and visual container. Anyone attending had to feel, from the first minute, that they were part of a first-rate film showcase.

What we found:

  • A project with no name
  • An overly corporate institutional tone
  • Physical materials that didn't hold together
  • A need to guide a large audience
  • The challenge of integrating the parent brand (Cotec)
Fig. 1 — The audience in the darkened room
Fig. 2 — The IMPARES screen before a full house

The diagnosis showed a clear need: the event could not present itself as one more corporate symposium. It needed an identity with a force of its own, able to compete on the cultural calendar and draw spectators beyond its usual circle. Its early graphic communications had no strategic hierarchy. The materials had to work both at large scale (screens, outdoor posters) and as short-lived printed pieces, while staying legible throughout.

In the physical space, the main challenge was flow and orientation. With high expected attendance, neither digital nor in-person visitors could find the room without a wayfinding system that prevented confusion and crowding.

Fig. 3 — The hand programme in the audience

The event's growth depended on the experience inside the venue. Without a strong signage channel to guide and inform people, it was impossible to handle a large audience while keeping the foundation's standard of quality.