RIFF – Reykjavík International Film Festival – is unveiling a new visual identity for the 2025 edition. The creative duo Krot&Krass, comprising Björn Loki and Elsa Jónsdóttir, is behind the new look, which can now be seen on RIFF’s website, social media, and beyond. This year’s festival takes place from September 25th to October 5th.
“Whenever we begin to work on a new project, we start by thinking about the feeling of the project,” Elsa explains when asked about the concept behind RIFF 2025’s look. “In this case, the design reflects movement and flight – it resonates with the idea of cinema as a kind of alternate reality you can fly into.” The design by Elsa and Loki will appear in various forms leading up to and during the festival – online, on merchandise, and as environmental art, among others.
Designers as free as puffins
“It’s a real joy to work on this project for the Reykjavík International Film Festival,” adds Loki. “From the moment we took it on, we knew it would be a fun challenge. Every year, a designer gets complete freedom to create something new. We work partly with the puffin – RIFF’s iconic mascot – but apart from that, we have full artistic freedom. We’re free as puffins.”
The only requirement? It must be something new.
“We’re very happy to have these creative minds – Elsa and Loki from Krot&Krass – join us at RIFF this year,” says Hrönn Marinósdóttir, RIFF’s festival director. “RIFF is, by nature, an artistic and imaginative event, so it’s important to bring in people who are inventive and full of ideas to create something fresh for the festival each year. The only rule we set is that the result should be new and different – and Krot&Krass have absolutely delivered.”
A design that echoes traditional Icelandic carving script
The Krot&Krass duo has been involved in a variety of projects in recent years. In addition to teaching at the Iceland University of the Arts, Flateyri Folk School, and Breiðholt College, they’ve worked on public artworks and turned their ideas into reliefs and sculptures. Elsa and Loki are also drawn to “höfðaletur,” a uniquely Icelandic ornamental lettering style often used in woodcarving – arguably Iceland’s only native typeface. Although often hard to read, it carries a sense of mystery that the duo has reflected in the typography created for RIFF 2025. It feels especially fitting, as this style – much like the magic of cinema – taps into the imagination.