Burning Ball, Vienna

Guided by the values expressed by the 10 Principles, Burning Man is a global ecosystem of artists, makers, and community organizers who co-create art, events, and local initiatives around the world. Most recognizably, tens of thousands of Burners gather annually to build Black Rock City, a participative temporary metropolis in the Nevada desert.

I worked to assist Burning Ball with a set of support items for 2015’s Burning Ball event in Vienna. The theme of the event centred around the concept of The Orient Express and Burning Ball usual Art Nouveau sensibility. With that in mind I utilised The Orient’s colour palette of blue and gold and used this throughout the collateral, peppering the designs with art nouveau motifs.

As the foremost focus of the project and the primary storytelling device for the campaign: a single-frame narrative that announces the event, signals mood, and compels attendance is key. For this project the poster draws on Art Nouveau and early 20th-century travel ephemera — ornate borders, filigree linework, and a restrained but luxurious palette of deep reds, teal, gold and warm neutrals. Typography is layered to create a hierarchy that places the event name and date front and centre while leaving room for venue and line-up information; the result is both decorative and legible at a glance.

Beyond aesthetics, the poster was composed with practical production and distribution needs in mind. Files were prepared at print-ready resolutions and aspect ratios for posters and flyers, with crop-safe margins and alternate compositions for social thumbnails. Variant compositions — a detailed close-up for merchandise and a simplified typographic lock-up for small-format promotional use — ensure the poster’s visual identity translates across sizes and media while retaining a coherent, instantly recognizable voice.

Event Badge

The volunteer badge was crafted to be both a clear on-site identifier and a cherished keepsake: a compact medallion or oval with an engraved event monogram, delicate filigree, and an antiqued-metal or enamel finish that photographs well. Practical fittings (pin, clip or lanyard), a robust construction and a scale that reads at arm’s length were prioritized so it functions reliably during the event while feeling weighty and desirable enough for volunteers to keep afterward as a token of service.

The railway token carries the Orient Express concept into a tactile collectible — concentric engraving, embossed type and milled or rope-patterned edges that signal craftsmanship. Built as a flexible object (VIP pass, backstage token, volunteer reward or limited-edition merch), it was considered in materials like antiqued brass, die-struck zinc or two-tone plating and could be serialized or presented on a framed card/box to boost perceived value. Together the badge and token form a small system of material storytelling: one wearable and immediate, the other collectible and archival, both extending the event’s luxury-railway narrative beyond the night.

Wristbands are the everyday, functional artifacts of any live event; for Burning Ball they were also an opportunity to carry the Orient Express motif into the crowd. Designs ranged from fabric woven bands with ornate repeat patterns, to laser-printed Tyvek or silicone variants that read well under stage lighting. The visual treatments used gilded motif repeats, subtle filigree accents, and a restrained event monogram so the wristband reads as both identification and wearable design.

Practical concerns — durability, legibility in low light, fast application at entry, and batch color-coding for different access levels — guided material and print decisions. Multiple variations were developed: crowd wristbands optimized for quick application and low cost; premium woven or metallic-foil bands for VIPs; and special collector bracelets for volunteers or staff that included additional ornament and serialized details.

© MMXXVI  Rory J. Murphy | All rights reserved.