Brief:
In the summer of 2023 during my MDHS Internship, the Division of Economic Assistance and Eligibility (EA) hosted a series of statewide staff training conferences. This would be the first time since the Covid pandemic where a training event of this scale was done. For the conferences, EA needed a theme and materials for the theme This theme had to be fresh, exciting and representative of the conference as well as the agency's brand. 

Process:
First, my division met with the directors of EA to brainstorm the theme and naming of the conferences. We discussed several exciting words and ultimately, we settled on the word "Engage". We however needed something to communicate that the conference would not be boring but rather fun. This is where we decided to use the word Energize. 

The next step of the project was creating a "micro-brand", a set of common colors and typefaces used by all the materials and logo. For the logo I white boarded a mind map to assist me in generating ideas and after many revisions and attempts, decided on an energy theme represented by a battery. I choose colors that complemented the agencies brand along with a typeface common on most computers (useful for EA to use graphics without errors). 

Next, EA needed an agenda. This agenda included all events and directions for the conference. Since there were three conferences in different places across the state it had to incorporate information for all 3. EA provided the information while I made the design. For the design I simply used the colors and gradients for headers and footers.

Each staff member needed a name tag which included a way to direct the staff members into each room. EA first suggested a lettering system, but I suggested a symbol system as it was simpler for the charts. I designed 6 symbols each part of the energy theme. These were put on the tags along with the staff member name. I also created a font guide so EA would know how each name should appear. These symbols were also placed on the agenda. 

Next was creating breakout signs for the conference. For this, I simply used the designs I made for the agenda and put the title and speaker.
I also created a PowerPoint template for EA to use for the sessions themselves, again using the design from the agenda. 

Lastly, I made a welcome sign and photo booth frame. The photo booth sign went through a few iterations in both landscape and portrait orientations, but I eventually settled on a square.

 

Challenges:
Over the course of the project, details about the conference would change leading to changes being done to the materials (especially the agenda). This eventually was solved by me using placeholder text I would then fill in when I received the final information. There was also a color error in printing where the blue and green were washed out. Luckily this was found and corrected before the materials were mass produced.
 

Outcome:
Agendas were printed on luster paper and distributed along with the name tags at each conference. The breakout signs were used and were made large enough that almost no one got lost. EA used the PowerPoint templates. I myself attended one of the conferences as a photographer and got the opportunity to see the brand in action. This project was a resounding success with many staff members have commenting that the brand showed them they weren't in for another generic conference.