The People Can Speak It: KITFest Abbreviation
After the first festival edition, I knew for sure our communities needed an easier brand name that they could humanise and easily mention in conversations. The greatest challenge was coining something new out of the title that was only abbreviated as KITF, without losing the official name or any aspects of the festival.
Objective
Rename the festival without changing the name, in order to meet the verbal interaction ease needed for a social-cultural public serving program like KITFest.Outcome
An easily pronounceable ‘KITFest’, a greatly innovative way of shortening the mouthful ‘Kenya International Theatre Festival’ without altering the name.While it may seem obvious and simple to achieve, the transition from KITF to KITFest took an entire year to develop. This mission seemed impossible mostly, mainly because of the mouthful length of title ‘Kenya International Theatre Festival’, and the limited possibilities in pronounceable abbreviations.
In 2018, the first ever possible combination was birthed and implemented, becoming an instant hit in how fast the public learnt and embraced it. Currently, the term ‘KITFest’ has sufficiently driven dialogue and inspired interest from all over the world, making the Kenya International Theatre Festival stand out as a regional theatrical powerhouse in differentiation from the other KITF in the region, the Kampala International Theatre Festival. Most importantly, it allowed the festival to have its unique and dedicated branding, creating room for the official logo to stamp its artistic and corporate authority, as well as sustain official trading.
