More Than Words: Creating the Identity for Ipswich Book Festival 2026

We love working with the team at Ipswich Book Festival, and we’re delighted to be back this year as their creative partner.

There’s something really important about setting the bar high for what people can expect from a festival. Great branding, effective communications and well-crafted design are all part of the experience. They help create a sense of anticipation, give a festival its personality and, ultimately, make people want to be part of it. It should be a priority, whatever the budget.

Building on the identity

We’ve been involved from the start this year, helping to shape a new theme and evolve the creative direction.

Last year’s identity generated a few comments about the symbols and what they represented. If you looked carefully, you’d have found a series of Ipswich icons hidden around the festival map.

For 2026, we wanted to build on that idea and keep the identity recognisable, but fresh, while giving the new theme a much bigger role.

The theme for this year’s festival is More Than Words.

Books are about much more than the words on a page. They connect us to people, places, ideas and experiences. They can challenge us, move us, entertain us and change the way we see the world.

So we’ve brought some of the stories and landmarks of Ipswich into the identity itself, using local icons within the typography.

Look closely and you’ll find the Customs House, Cornhill Portal, Town Hall, Obolensky statue and Grandma’s Umbrella.

The symbols appear in a new set of kaleidoscope patterns which are used across all campaign collateral and design work, print and digital.

A festival with plenty going on

And there’s a lot to look forward to.

From 2–4 October, Ipswich Book Festival will bring together:

• 55 events across 11 venues
• Authors, broadcasters, historians, illustrators, poets and performers
• Free creative writing workshops with the University of Suffolk
• Schools’ Week, supported by Sizewell C, with 25 authors visiting 50 schools
• A Local Author Showcase
• And plenty more besides

The festival team have been working incredibly hard to put together a brilliant programme, and we’re really pleased to have played a small part in bringing it to life.

See you there.

View the full Ipswich Book Festival programme

With thanks

Headline sponsors: Ipswich Central, Larking Gowen, Sizewell C
Partners: New Wolsey Theatre, Hudson Group, WHAT associates Ltd
WHAT: Tim Hodgson & Wendy Hodgson
Print: With thanks to Jason at Keith Avis Printer

Emma Lightfoot · Cathy Frost · Tony Felgate · Andrew Marsh