This year’s conference brought new challenges as the AAP and LTD decided to revamp and re-brand the association’s flagship event. That meant branding everything from the logo, to the program, to the signage and t-shirts. To accomplish this and provide not just a unified look—but a visual palette that is broad yet easily identifiable—LTD developed an in-depth conceptual plan that maintains an overarching theme but provides flexibility for the design of each piece so that no element is simply “cut & paste” but highly specific.
The Concepting Process At LTD
LTD
invests a lot of upfront thought and creative energy into developing a very
detailed conceptual plan for each event. At the initial presentation phase, LTD
provides the client with mock-ups of each required item (from conference logo
to signage, programs, exhibitor brochures, etc.). Each piece is presented with
several design options. LTD has found that this process is extremely beneficial
as it allows the client to visualize how each piece works as a stand-alone as
well as part of the group of collaterals. In this way, clients can make design
changes and pick and choose those items that fit their aesthetic best. It is
also an opportunity for the client to see why certain design choices may work
better than others, based on logo placement, color and font choices, to name a
few.
Next,
LTD chose an “anchor” design element that would appear on each piece. This icon
becomes easily recognizable and helps to brand the event. In this project, the
AAP icon was a fleur de lis. But LTD went one step further… it developed
several creative treatments of this icon, so that while each piece may contain
the fleur de lis, it looks slightly different on each. In this way, the icon
itself is highly recognizable, but never boring.
The
AAP project was particularly challenging for LTD due to its location. Intent on
avoiding New Orleans cliché imagery, LTD set out to find images of New Orleans
that were easily recognizable, yet not hackneyed and overexposed. To accomplish
this, LTD created “mood boards” that included everything from history to
architecture to food, music, and of course Mardi Gras. The goal was to promote
New Orleans as a total destination location, yet maintain a sense of purpose
regarding the conference itself. Intent on moving beyond mere stock
photography, LTD chose less well-known images and creatively employed silhouettes,
screens, interesting backgrounds and textures and a mixture of photos and
hand-drawn images. LTD achieved their goal to the client’s great satisfaction.
AAP loved all of the concepts presented
but ultimately chose a combination of several. LTD went back to work, modified
the concept to encompass the feedback received from AAP, tweaked the design,
changed the color scheme slightly and submitted another complete conceptual
package—and voila! Mission accomplished—c’est magnifique (as the French would
say)!
Final Deliverables Included:
• Website
• Preliminary Program
• Exhibitor Prospectus
• Sponsorship Brochure
• International-Focused Brochure
• Specialty-Specific Promotional Brochures
• Print Ads
• Signage (including window clings, shuttle
bus schedule, 2013 booth, pole banners )
• Onsite Guide
• Pocket Guide
• PowerPoint Template
• E-Mail Templates
• Pull-Up Banners
• Web Graphics
• T-Shirt
• Exhibits-Only Pass
And so much more!
The Results?
• Attendance reached an all-time high in 2012.
• Registered attendees said the collaterals brought the conference to a higher level and got their attention.
• Registered attendees said the collaterals brought the conference to a higher level and got their attention.
• Attendees were frequently seen using the registration
desk where the conference banner was located as a backdrop for their photos
from the event.
If you have an upcoming conference,
meeting or other event, contact us for fabulous design ideas that will take
your promo materials to the next level just like the AAP.
