Designing the Spirit of Borneo: Behind the Borneo Art Festival Visual Identity by Nova Network

A Celebration of Culture and Continuity

In the heart of Southeast Asia, where traditions breathe through rhythm, craft, and community, the Borneo Art Festival (BAF) stands as a powerful convergence of cultures.
For 2025, the organizing committee envisioned a refreshed visual identity — one that honors Borneo’s timeless spirit while presenting it through a forward-looking creative lens.

Nova Network was commissioned to translate this vision into a cohesive brand system — a logo that not only symbolizes artistic unity, but also reflects the region’s evolving creative landscape.

From Culture to Concept

The process began with cultural and linguistic research across Sabah and Sarawak. We studied local motifs, languages, and festival traditions — searching for visual patterns that represent togetherness and artistic expression.

The result is a logo inspired by woven geometry — symbolizing connection and collaboration. Each shape interlocks, echoing how the festival brings artists and communities together.

System Design and Application

The final identity is supported by a complete visual identity system, developed to ensure consistency across all platforms:

• Mono, Colored, and Inverted Variants for flexible usage

• Grid-based Composition System for clarity and symmetry

• Typography Pairing Guidelines that blend contemporary sans-serif elegance with Borneo’s human warmth

• Mockups and Application Samples across festival materials, merchandise, stage banners, and digital media

Each execution point reinforces the festival’s credibility and emotional resonance — a hallmark of Nova Network’s visual branding methodology.

A Collaborative and Respectful Process

Nova Network’s creative process is guided by respect — respect for culture, community, and narrative. In developing the BAF identity, collaboration with the festival’s organizing team ensured every decision was culturally accurate and emotionally authentic.

This iterative dialogue — between design and tradition — produced not only a logo, but a living emblem that carries Borneo’s voice into new creative futures.

Design with Purpose

For Nova Network, design is about storytelling with structure. The BAF identity is not just a logo — it’s a visual narrative of how culture continues to evolve through creativity.

Every line, curve, and color was crafted to represent unity in diversity, and to celebrate Borneo’s role as a vibrant hub of Southeast Asian arts.

About Nova Network

Nova Network is a multidisciplinary creative studio specializing in brand identity, digital storytelling, and cultural-tech innovation.
We work at the intersection of design and culture — helping organizations, festivals, and communities shape visual experiences that are authentic, scalable, and timeless.