Asian Avant-Garde Film Festival
An annual celebration of Asia's moving image practices
In celebration of independent art and filmmaking in Asia over the last six decades, the Asian Avant-Garde Film Festival, supported by CHANEL, is an annual event featuring screenings, exhibitions, performances, talks, workshops, and live acts held at M+.
To enhance the festival experience, M+ enlisted Nic Chan and Jimmy K.K. Lam from Studio Earth, in collaboration with Studio Hik and Likewise, to redevelop a portal to streamline digital content by building a comprehensive visual framework.
Team
Nic Chan on development, Jimmy K.K. Lam from Studio Earth on user experience and interface design, Studio Hik on visual identity design, and Likewise on trailer production
Moving Image, Digital and Editorial at M+
Chanel Kong, Cristen Tsoi, Eunice Tsang, Kitty Leung, Michael Lee, Sewon Barrera, Silke Schmickl, Ulanda Blair
Our approach draws on an array of graphic and typographic components designed and developed by Xavier Cédric, which faithfully resonate with the festival's visual identity.
In addition to a flexible and comprehensive visual structure, Studio Hik created a series of key visuals that viscerally reflect the 2025 festival theme, Time Will Tell.
The portal provides visitors with access to its multiple sections, including a programme calendar, creator stories, and multimedia content that enriches the overall visitor experience.
One of the portal's key focuses is the "Programme" section, which lists all activities and events throughout the festival.
Our design principle revolves around concepts of usability and instancy, hence our adoption of primary functions such as a filter system and accordions to show and hide desired content.
Visitors can switch between "Calendar" and "Timeline" views. Where the "Calendar" view spotlights individual entries, the "Timeline" view presents the sequence and overlap of events.
We made careful adjustments to the typographic hierarchy throughout the portal to improve user experience and accessibility.
Visual elements such as font sizes and paragraph spaces play an essential role in pages such as programme details and article entries, turning text-heavy paragraphs into readable passages interlaced with images.
The Asian Avant-Garde Film Festival project was led by Nic Chan, Jimmy K.K. Lam from Studio Earth, with Studio Hik on visual identity design, Likewise on trailer production, and the Moving Image, Digital and Editorial team at M+.