MARYAN IVASYK

A retrospective of the Ukrainian underground music scene

Neformat Media is a Ukrainian online resource dedicated to underground music. Founded in 2007, the resource has been covering the scene, organizing festivals, and supporting artists. In 2023, Neformat Media approached us to create a complete rebranding and rethink their visual communication. After a series of workshops with the client, we decided to base our concept on the historical aspect of the Ukrainian underground music scene. We took pale yellow as the main color for the identity, as it was the most affordable paper color in the 1980s and 1990s, and was therefore widely used by music bands for their posters and album covers. We wanted to keep this DIY approach, and so we used graphic elements that were common in posters and covers from that era. At the same time, we wanted to highlight the rich history of the Ukrainian underground music scene.