Jess's designs blossom at Floriade

Floriade may be coming to a close, but University of Canberra alumna Jess Spaleta is still pinching herself after the role she played in reinvigorating Australia’s biggest celebration of spring. Jess designed the new branding and theme artwork used at this year’s festival – no easy feat for an event which strives to be brighter each year.

But the graphic design graduate’s designs blossomed, adding even more splashes of colour in Floriade’s 29th year. Giving the iconic Canberra event a facelift has been an incredible experience for Jess, giving her the chance to collaborate with the Floriade team.

I have learnt so much about what is involved in getting something like Floriade off the ground.

Born and raised in Canberra, Jess said her designs were inspired by her own experiences of the festival and springtime in Canberra.

“For me, Floriade symbolises the start of spring. The warmer weather that accompanies spring in Canberra and blooming flowers and blossoming trees really helped inspire the bright watercolours and whimsical lines within the design."

Combining soft yet rich watercolours with whimsical line drawings of flowers and botanics; giving her design depth and movement.

I think the final product represents what spring is all about, and adds life and versatility to the existing Floriade brand which they wished to retain.

Jess graduated with a Bachelor of Graphic Design in 2012 and Bachelor of Advertising and Marketing Communications in 2013 and is currently working at Canberra creative agency, Coordinate.

She also came up with the tagline for year’s festival, ‘Life in Bloom’, which she said gave her designs some context.

“The organisers of Floriade really loved what the phrase embodied and wanted to run with it throughout the 2016 Floriade marketing campaign, which was one of those, ‘You’re joking, right?’ moments for me,” she said.

Her favourite part of Floriade is getting to see all the different kinds of Canberrans come out of their winter hibernation, especially for the flower festival.

“I love going to Floriade and taking in the atmosphere, whether it’s sitting near stage 88 with a picnic lunch and listening to the live music acts or people watching as Canberrans come out from hibernation to enjoy everything Floriade has to offer."

Words by Vanessa Lam, images courtesy of Jess Spaleta