Chicken & Egg Films champions women and gender-expansive documentary filmmakers around the globe with funding, mentorship, and access so they can tell stories that ignite change.
Recognising that various forms of inequity often intersect and compound one another, slowing or even halting careers, its mission is to disrupt and dismantle these barriers.
Founded in 2005 by documentary film veterans Julie Parker Benello, Wendy Ettinger, and Judith Helfand, Chicken & Egg initially focused on providing financial and creative support for women nonfiction directors. Over time, it has expanded its mandate to include gender-expansive filmmakers—encompassing those whose gender identity or expression transcends socially defined gender norms and cultural roles.
Chicken & Egg asked Pentagram to develop a new visual identity that would better align with its broadened scope and evolving mission, including its advocacy for non-binary and LGBTQ+ voices. As well as growing beyond its previous look and feel, Chicken & Egg also evolved past some of the language it used. It needed a brand that better reflected its passionate commitment to a fairer and better world and its unique role in building it.
The new identity—the first since the organisation was founded—needed to represent the wide array of films and subject matter championed by Chicken & Egg, while also reflecting the diverse individuals and causes the organisation supports. It was essential for the identity to translate effectively across digital platforms, print media, and live events such as the Sundance Festival, where Chicken & Egg maintains an active presence.
The rebranding began with a name change from ‘Pictures’ to ‘Films’, signalling a more progressive and future-facing outlook. This was followed by a reimagining of the chicken and egg motifs into a dynamic logo that lends itself to animation, particularly in end-frame sequences. Referencing the famous causality dilemma, the stylised egg seamlessly forms part of the chicken, allowing both elements to be read together visually. The flexible relationship between the logo’s type and symbol enables playful, varied combinations depending on context.
The primary brand colour is a vibrant fluoro yellow, paired with black and a range of bright secondary colours. The typography is bold and authoritative, with headlines set in uppercase Marr Sans, used alongside the serif typeface Cardinal Fruit. Motion introduces a dynamic layer to the identity, becoming a focal point for the organisation's digital presence.
Chicken & Egg’s Jenni Wolfson comments: “The Pentagram team expertly shepherded us through our very first rebranding exercise in 20 years as an organisation. We needed our visual identity to reflect both our gutsiness and humility, our radical vision and tender approach--our legacy and our future. They nailed it. Thanks to their thoughtful, brilliant work, we are equipped to reintroduce ourselves in our next chapter as the formidable champions for doc filmmakers that we are.”
Chicken & Egg‘s mission is to see a world transformed because the stories and storytellers it uplifts inspire empathy, learning and action. Its new identity crafted by Pentagram is bold, and energetic, empowering Chicken & Egg to reach and engage with an even broader audience of filmmakers, partners, and supporters while remaining rooted in its inclusive nature and activist spirit.
