Edinburgh Festival Fringe

This year’s eye-catching Fringe campaign celebrates the amazing artists, companies and venues who create this extraordinary and ever-changing festival. It was inspired by starling murmurations, and the idea that something spectacular can occur when hundreds of individuals come together.

We were delighted to work with Edinburgh-based linocut artist Maria Doyle, who often uses the city’s beautiful buildings and skylines as inspiration in her work.

Maria started working with lino prints as a hobby in 2016, and her practice has grown and grown since then. She creates architectural prints inspired by places she has lived in and visited, working from photos to carve her creations and pulling prints by hand.

“Linocut is a beautifully methodical process: sketch – transfer – carve – print. All of my designs start out as rough sketches on paper. This is where most of the designing and editing happens as once you commit to carving the block, every mark is final. Linocuts print as a mirror image, so the design must be transferred onto the block in reverse before you can begin to carve.

"Carving takes many hours as each brick, window and doorway must be carefully chiselled away by hand. I tend to fall into a rhythm and find this process very meditative. Due to lockdown, I had to pull all the prints at home using a wooden spoon at the kitchen table. You never know exactly how a design will look until you’ve pulled that first print so it’s always an exciting reveal!"
– Maria Doyle

Working with Maria and our brilliant creative agency, Bright Signals, we drew up a shortlist of Edinburgh views to use in the campaign, shining a spotlight on the city streets and buildings where the Fringe springs to life. We wanted to recognise the festival’s roots in the Scottish capital, to provide a sense of the Fringe’s iconic hometown while reaching international audiences through online performances.

We love Maria’s bold and beautiful lines, as well as the intricate detail she brought to the birds she created for us. To her prints we added a splash of colour, and a brief hint of sunrise representing hope on the horizon after what’s been a hugely difficult time for many.

“It’s been an absolute delight to work with the Fringe. The team has been so friendly, warm and supportive throughout. Thank you for championing local artists and giving us a global platform!”
– Maria Doyle