Brief
The Association of Writers & Writing hosts an annual conference at the Oregon Convention Center, centered around one primary theme and consisting of a keynote speaker, conference panels, video and film screenings, and more. For every conference, the branding is developed based on that year’s theme.
The theme for this year’s conference was “Those You Find,” focusing on the idea of found family. On top of a cohesive brand identity and visual system, a variety of materials, including a promotional booklet, posters, wayfinding, and other miscellaneous graphics and materials were required.
The primary challenge for this project was on deciding how the theme of the conference could be captured by its visual identity. This problem was solved with researching the target audience for the conference. In identifying that in the idea of a “found family” implied finding a place to call home and that would resonate with the audience, I decided on finding a theme that would visually represent the idea of home - through tablecloth patterns, and visual elements further evoking a sunlight kitchen full of plants - a comforting place to many.
The finalized conference identity and promotional materials evoke the conference’s theme of home and identity, engaging conference members and helping them navigate as they attend the conference. The created identity is highly unified and easily applicable to any designs that may need to be created for the conference.
Process
Work for this conference's branding began with developing moodboards and style guides, refining a visual and tonal direction. With the theme of "home" being prevalent in the conference, I identified a visual style that evoked that, with friendly color palettes, floral illustrations, and patterns that felt reminiscent of a brightly lit kitchen, where a home cooked meal may be sitting on the table.
Upon finalizing a brand identity for the conference, I began to work with how to display that identity, creating and refining a grid system that would be a reference point for all the deliverables to be created.