Ojalá Productions
Brand Identity, Collaboration with Art Director Michelle Le Clerc
Founded by Tanya Saracho, Ojalá is a multi-faceted media company developing and producing television, film, and audio projects dedicated to Latine voices and narratives.
The opportunity to work on creating a brand identity and guidelines for Ojalá came to me through my friend and colleague Michelle LeClerc. The client mission perfectly aligned with many aspects of my identity and value system. Every person involved from stakeholders to creatives is part of the Latine diaspora and is invested in the broader representation of our cultures across various forms of media. This project gave all of us a rare opportunity to communicate via our own cultural shorthand, and to use semiotic language centering the Latinidad experience.
Keep scrolling for the process story.
Ojalá is an expression of hope, a wish, a prayer. “If God wills it.”
This is one of the many Spanish words which originate from Arabic (O Allah!). The Ojalá brand mark tells the story of looking to the heavens as you make a wish, the act of bearing witness, and the role of the filmmaker to project those stories back out into the eyes of the audience. It’s an intimate exchange of storytelling, desire, and creation. The aesthetic rendering of the mark references the tradition of Mexican Block Printing made famous by José Posada, and the Majolica pottery/ Talevera Tilework that traveled from North Africa to Spain, and then through the Americas by way of Spanish colonization.
The icons for the brand are renderings of Milagros whose name literally means miracle or surprise. Milagros represent prayers, answered prayers, and fulfilled hopes. Each icon connects to a specific hope or desire. The textures were derived from textile traditions that can be found all through North America, Central America, the Caribbean, and South America. Brand Patterns were developed with the “Step and Repeat” Banner that is often used on the red carpet at a film premier.
THE PROCESS
Client direction:
The Ojalá is Millennial & Gen Y Latinidad. They need no explanatory commas (fluent in the culture).
Evoke Latinx without using tropes like pinatas or sombreros.
Remember Ojalá (god willing) has a root in Arabic.
Make the accent pop.Keep it clean, timeless, and cultural
The sacred heart (was an idea for the previous company, what is next for Ojalá?)
Curanderismo “Witchy” = pre-colonial wisdom, especially the female role of healer
Think about the Diaspora that contributed to the culture of Latinidad & Mexicanidad.
Likes the idea of playing with the concept of rays of light and the wordplay of Rei(na).
