ALEC

A visual foundation for a new pan-African live entertainment platform

PROJECT OVERVIEW

Africa’s live-entertainment sector contains enormous creative energy, but the people building it often operate across disconnected markets, disciplines and professional networks.

ALEC was conceived as a place for those worlds to meet.

Developed by Purplefire Entertainment, the Africa Live Entertainment Conference brings together professionals across touring, festivals, venues, production, technology, policy, sponsorship and investment.

Before its first edition could take shape, ALEC needed a visual foundation capable of introducing the platform, supporting sponsor conversations and travelling across different forms of communication.

MetaCraft was engaged to establish that foundation.

THE PROBLEM

A new conference does not yet possess the recognition that comes from years of programming, speakers, partnerships and event photography.

Its first identity must do more work.

For ALEC, the system needed to communicate professional credibility without becoming visually rigid. It also needed enough character to belong within live entertainment rather than resemble a conventional business summit.

The identity would have to work across formal sponsorship materials, digital communication, merchandise and eventual event applications, while remaining clear to audiences encountering the acronym for the first time.

METACRAFT"S ROLE & APPROACH

MetaCraft began with a compact discovery process built around ALEC’s purpose, audience, ambitions and intended applications.

The creative brief prioritised connection, growth and development. It also called for an identity that could feel modern and professional without losing the energy of the entertainment sector. The system needed to remain legible across both digital and physical use.

Several identity routes were explored.

The selected direction offered more than a recognisable symbol. Its construction created the possibility of patterns, repetition, motion and merchandise, an attribute the client identified during selection.

MetaCraft then refined that direction into a practical logo family, colour and typography system, usage guide and animated expression.

The creative logic

At the centre of the identity is an abstract outline of the African continent formed through two intersecting lines.

The lines do not trace a rigid geographic border. They move around and through one another, representing connection, collaboration and the movement of ideas across markets.

Purple carries ambition and creativity. Teal introduces progress, development and growth.

Together, the colours give ALEC enough energy for entertainment applications while remaining controlled enough for formal communication.

The logo was developed in multiple configurations, allowing the full conference name, acronym and symbol to work independently according to available space and context.

OUTCOMES & ENABLEMENT

ALEC’s inaugural edition took place in Johannesburg from 23–25 April 2026. The event brought together speakers, sponsors and partners across live entertainment, tourism, technology, policy and culture.

The identity provided a consistent visual reference across the conference’s public and sponsor-facing communication.

Identity system

The primary and secondary marks established a hierarchy for formal, compact and digital applications.

A favicon and simplified configurations allowed the identity to remain recognisable in restricted spaces.

Motion

The logo animation translated the movement already embedded in the symbol into a short dynamic expression for screens and digital communication.

Sponsor-facing communication

MetaCraft designed editable presentation templates in Figma and used it to structure ALEC’s sponsorship deck.

The system gave the team a consistent framework for presenting the conference to partners while retaining the ability to update the material internally.

MetaCraft handled design and limited visual direction. Sponsorship copy was supplied by the client.

Corporate application

A letterhead extended the identity into basic organisational communication.

Wider adoption

ALEC and its other partners subsequently carried the identity across:

the official website;
Instagram;
speaker and programme communication;
screens;
backdrops;

These applications demonstrate adoption of the system, although they were not designed or produced by MetaCraft.

WHY IT MATTERS

Cultural platforms often begin by commissioning what appears to be a small set of assets.

The more important question is whether those assets can support what comes next.

For ALEC, the identity needed to move between sponsorship conversations, public communication, digital interfaces, merchandise and a live conference environment. It also needed to survive beyond the inaugural edition.

The project demonstrates how a focused identity engagement can give an emerging platform enough structure to launch, communicate and grow without pretending that its first visual system must solve every future need at once.