Project Description:

This project challenges students to create a branded campaign for an event of their choice. Event campaigns use design to promote experiences, foster anticipation, and create a unified visual presence across touchpoints. Students will define the event concept, audience, and purpose—then develop a cohesive brand identity that builds excitement, communicates essential information, and delivers a memorable experience before, during, and after the event. The campaign will take the form of a singular event brand, but may also coordinate with a parent organization’s identity.

Objective:

By completing this project, students will:

• Create an event brand that moves from concept to applied outcomes.

• Develop a brand system that builds recognition and communicates an event’s purpose.

• Translate research insights into design strategies that engage audiences.

• Explore methods to create cohesive experiences across digital, print, and environmental touchpoints.

• Apply brand design principles to promote participation, excitement, and continuity.

Requirements:

Design Thinking

• Research a theme, organization, or community to identify event goals and audiences.

• Define the event’s purpose, positioning, and message.

• Develop a conceptual framework for the campaign experience and story.

• Analyze audience motivations, desired interactions, and communication needs.

• Establish tone, personality, and guiding principles for the event brand.

• Define the event strategy and touchpoints that support the event lifecycle (pre-event promotion, on-site experience, post-event follow-up).

Design Doing

• Create an event name and visual identity (logo, typography, color, and supporting elements).

• Design campaign messaging (tagline, call-to-action, and key phrases).

• Develop branded event materials (e.g. posters, invites, tickets, social media, digital banners, motion, signage or environmental graphics).

Final Outcome

• Event definition and positioning.

• Visual identity system for the event campaign.

• Event lifecycle diagram showing how the event brand is introduced, experienced, and remembered.

• Event applications (student-determined based on research and insights).

• Present final outcomes with accompanying process documentation on FigJam.

Deliverables:

• Sources files and/or .pdf documentation of project in full.

• Specifics will be outlined in the Canvas submission entry.

Goals:

• Gain experience in developing cohesive event branding systems.

• Learn how to apply brand strategy to timed, experiential design contexts.

• Strengthen skills in translating audience insights into engaging campaign identities.

• Design adaptable, scalable systems that unify physical and digital event experiences.

• Demonstrate the power of design to shape perception, participation, and memory.